


blue

by m3ll0h5



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 47,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28403316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m3ll0h5/pseuds/m3ll0h5
Summary: George is a simple guy, he lives in Florida and works with his best friend all day doing what he loves. He had a simple life; that is until a mysterious force awakens inside of him drawing him to the small chest his mother has always kept hidden from him, as well as a boy he runs into along the way.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	1. half blood prince

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [City of Bones](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/733440) by Cassandra Clare. 



> Hello! Just wanted to clear some things up before I started! One, this is a fanfic based on my favorite book series 'The Mortal Instruments' by Cassandra Clare! In no way am I plagiarizing or anything of the sort, I just love the concept. That being said, you don't have to have read the books or watched the tv show to understand the book! It will be standalone and have its storyline separate from the storyline in City Of Bones (the first book of the series). Second, Dream, George, and Sapnap are all around the same age in the book, rather than being spread out. Dream and George are both 21 and Sapnap is 20! Third, the story is based in Florida however I don't live in Florida so bear with me if I make a mistake along the way with locations!

"Come on, you can't be serious!" George gawked at his friend.

His friend rolled his eyes at George's comment. 

"What do you mean, George? You don't like my idea?" Nick replied, hurt by his friend's doubt. 

"No, I do not like your idea to code an NSFW mod into Minecraft! Now quit it and get back to work or the boss will be furious at us!" George whisper-yelled at Nick. 

He and Nick had been working for a coding company for the past two years since graduating from high school. They had been balancing College and their job while also trying to maintain a social life, which George failed. Being offered such a high-status job fresh out of high school with no degree was a big risk for the company, but they took the risk after seeing how well the two could code whatever they wanted into Minecraft, their favorite video game. 

They were both aware that the company took a big risk offering them this position, so they were always on their best behavior in fear of their jobs being taken. They both resumed their tasks when their co-worker walked in, resulting in a sigh of relief from both of the boys. 

"Hey, you two, whatcha working on?" The woman asked, resting a hand on George's shoulder. Nick glanced down at her hand on his shoulder and shrugged, 

"Oh, nothing, just the biggest project to finish off the WP in our careers. No biggie " Nick said, trying to sound casual. 

George could see Nick's cheeks turning pink and him looking down, away from Alexa. George had to hold back a laugh at Nick's flustered look and cover for him. 

"We're supposed to be finishing this by the end of the week, but I can't see myself finishing this dumb code within the next two hours. I'm confused, I've finished thousands of codes like this one within the past three years, and for some reason, this one has stumped me. The rest of the project is finished and perfected but this one line has me stopped." George said, trying to find any mistake in his coding that would prevent it from working. 

Alexa stared at his screen and her eyebrows raised.

"May I?" She asked, motioning towards his monitor. He rolled his chair back, allowing her to lean over his desk. 

"Your code is perfect, nearly flawless actually, but you forgot a symbol in this line." She said, quickly typing on the keyboard. She pressed enter and the characters on his screen filed together seamlessly, meaning she found the issue. 

George's face lit up and he smiled, finally feeling free from the death-grip his work had on him. 

"Oh my gosh, you've done it. You fixed my code!" He said, nearly jumping out of his chair from excitement. 

Alexa smiled down at him and waved at the boys as she walked away. 

"Jesus man," Nick said letting out a deep breath. 

"You've got her wrapped around your finger," Nick said, almost angrily. 

George chuckled, closing the tabs on his computer. 

"Oh Sapnap, you now I don't think of her that way." He replied. 

Nick shot him a glare. 

George couldn't help but laugh at his friend, he was heated by Alexa's affection towards George and George also called Nick by his nickname for him. 

After their laughs, George sighed. 

"Well, I'm done for the weekend and can leave now. Fancy to come or do you want me to wait for you to finish what you're working on?" George said, letting his English lingo slip resulting in a chuckle from Nick. 

"Do you fancy I go with you love, or shall I stay and have a cup of tea while I wait?" Nick said, mocking George. 

It was George's turn to shoot a glare. 

"Oh shut up Sapnap, do you want to come now or not?" George asked, getting fed up with Nick's banter. 

Nick closed his computer tabs and turned off his PC, resulting in a confused look from George. 

"I've been done since yesterday, I was programming my sex mod into my Minecraft world." He said with a sight giggle. 

The two packed their things and headed on their way. 

-

"Ughhh Sapnap I don't want to go out let me stay here. Please, just this once!" George begged.

"George, I can't even remember the last time you left this apartment if it wasn't for work. You even get your groceries delivered now. Seriously bro, when's the last time you had some action? Or even SPOKE to a female?" Sapnap said, dragging George to his closet. 

"You don't even live here! You can't make those kinds of accusations," He started. 

"Plus, I spoke to Alexa today, didn't I?" He said, hoping to get a rise out of Sapnap.

He did.

"Oh my- Jesus, George! How hard is it to go out to a bar with your friend on a Friday night after we just finished the biggest projects of our whole career! Please, George. Just come out for two hours, if you still aren't having a good time then you can go back to your lousy, plain, boring apartment." Sapnap whined. 

George scoffed, 

"My apartment is NOT boring or lousy! Yes, there are no paintings or bright colors anywhere but that's how I like it! Now, if you could leave me be while I find a decent outfit to wear to this occasion, I'd greatly appreciate it." George defended, resulting in Sapnap fleeing to the kitchen. 

George stood in his closet looking around at his clothes. They all blended 

_Gray, black, white, the occasional brown, black, gray, black._

He rolled his eyes and settled on a plain navy crewneck and black pants. 

He walked into his kitchen and saw Sapnap sitting at the bar on his phone. He looked up and beamed at George, who was wearing something other than a black hoodie for once. 

Well, it was still a crewneck, but it wasn't black.

"Ooooh Gogy, you look magnificent. I have just the thing to spice up the- rather plain- get up you have here." Sapnap said, pulling out a fake white shirt collar from his bag. 

George chuckled. 

"I am NOT wearing that thing." 

-

George and Sapnap walked into the club, George scratching at the itchy faux shirt collar around his neck. He rolled his eyes at how easy he was to persuade. Sapnap made it into the club with no issue, using his fake I.D. he got a couple of years ago. 

After the first hour of blinding lights and blaring music, George had lost Sapnap and was sitting at the bar with a glass of water. He'd been approached by girls asking him to dance, which he declined considering Sapnap wasn't there to convince him to accept. 

He glanced over to see Sapnap making out with a random girl on the steps. He rolled his eyes and got up to leave, assuming Sapnap wouldn't notice he was gone. 

He left the club and walked across the street to a small book store, with a fireplace and chairs. 

_Oh goodness, warmth, no people and books? That sounds perfect._

George was a bit of a book worm. He read every new book that caught his eye on the shelf, his favorite genre being fiction, and anything to do with the supernatural. That is what he did every weekend he wasn't playing Minecraft with his friends. He read. He loved the places reading could take you, and he loved being a part of another person's life and feelings and escaping his own. He also enjoyed real books. Not e-books, but real hard-cover books. He liked reading the small printed letters and feeling the delicate pages on his fingertips. 

He entered the shop, immediately being greeted by warmth and the smell of fire. He relaxed, realizing there wasn't even an employee at the front desk. He walked to the back of the shop to the fiction section and walked up every aisle examining the titles of the books. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a tall man sitting in one of the few chairs in the shop, whom he hadn't noticed before. He was reading a leather-binded book that seemed so small in the man's enormous hands. He wore black pants, similar to George's but tighter fitting. He wore an olive crewneck and a small silver chain around his neck, as well as rings on a few of his fingers. His hair was a light, ashy brown and it was long enough to fall into his face, but not long enough to cover his ears. He was deeply focused on his book, which made George stare more intently at this man, not fearing he'd notice his creepy stare. 

There was something about him, something off-putting. He had an aura that made him hard to focus on, almost like George's vision was defocusing. The man slowly looked up from his book and around at his surroundings, making George look away. He could feel the man staring at him, but he continued with his book-searching. 

George finally settled on re-reading the fourth Harry Potter book, his favorite, to make things easier on his unsettled feelings towards the mysterious man. 

As he pulled the book from the shelf, another book fell onto the floor. It made a noise, but the noise was amplified from echoing off of the empty walls. 

_"Shit,"_ George said under his breath. 

The man chuckled. 

George bent down to grab the book and looked up at the man, who was still focused on his book. 

"Oh, you find that funny?" George questioned.

He didn't know why he said anything, considering he found it funny as well. Maybe it was all of the built-up rage he had towards Sapnap for dragging him here on a Friday night. 

The man looked up at George, furrowing his brows. George looked away to put the book back on the shelf, and the man said nothing. 

George scoffed. 

"Oh I see, so you're going to laugh at me and not even acknowledge my presence?" George said with laughter in his tone. 

The man stood up and walked towards him, setting his book on the chair. As the man neared George, he realized how much taller the man was than him. At least a six-inch difference. Which wasn't hard, considering George was only five-foot-nine. 

The man looked down at George, not getting too close. 

The man was easier for George to focus on now, him being closer to him. 

"You can see me?" The man asked George, resulting in a chuckle. 

"Is that a joke?" George asked, walking towards the seating area. 

The man followed eagerly.

"But- but I've never seen you before?" The man asked, clearly confused. 

George peered at the man with a confused glance. 

"Yeah? That's kinda the thing with strangers, you don't know each other." George said, stating the obvious. 

At this point, the man looked dumbfounded and George was utterly confused. 

"And you don't have any markings? Or have you hidden them?" The man asked, making George more worried about the man's sanity than his safety. 

"Look man, I was just trying to make conversation with a fellow reader, sorry I ticked you off. My apologies, let's drop it." George said, wanting to end the entire conversation. 

The man looked down at his wrist and pulled up his sleeve, revealing a sleeve of dark black tattoos covering the man's forearm. 

George's eyes widened, realizing that those symbols looked familiar to him. He couldn't quite make out what they were, but there were far too many of them for them to just be meaningless tattoos. They had meaning, though at this point George didn't have the mental capacity to care about. 

He sat down at the corner of the couch and lifted one knee to his chest as he opened his book. The man stood there, still confused, looking back and forth from his arm to George. George felt uncomfortable, to say the least, but he pushed it off and read his book.

After twenty minutes of dead silence in the shop, the man closed his book and put it back on the shelf. As he walked back toward George, he leaned onto a bookshelf and spoke, 

"Goblet of Fire, a great one," he started. 

"Though I prefer Half-Blood Prince, considering my least-favorite character dies." He said, making George raise his gaze to meet the man. 

He scoffed.

"You liked Dumbledore dying? Are you mad?" George asked, his British coming out once again. 

The man chuckled at his accent and choice of words. 

"I like your accent, what part of Britain?" He asked, changing the subject. 

"No, you'll answer my question," George stated. 

"You enjoyed Dumbledore's death? First, you ask a blatantly obvious question and now this? I'm starting to think you are mad." George said light-heartedly. 

The man laughed, filling the room.

"Well," he started, walking towards the couch and sitting on the other end.

"I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but it did lead to Harry breaking down and finding his truer self, resulting in Voldemort dying." He said confidently. 

George stared at the man. 

"Brighton," George stated.

"I'm from Brighton." He answered the man's question. 

The man smiled. His smile was bright, his teeth were perfect. 

The man was seemingly flawless, not a single blemish on his face or imperfections. Though, his hair was all over the place as he kept having to push it out of his face. 

"What is your name, mysterious man?" George asked, closing his book. 

The man sat for a minute and stared, contemplating his answer. 

"Dream," He stated.

George raised his eyebrows. 

"Dream? That's your name?" He asked. 

"Well, no. But I don't usually tell people my real name unless we're close. Even some of my friends don't know my birth name, I've always gone by Dream." He answered. 

"And what's your name, fake collar boy?" He asked, making George's cheeks flush pink, remembering the dumb collar his friend made him wear. 

He scratched the back of his neck. 

"Uh, George. It's George." He responded, embarrassed. 

Dream laughed. 

"Why are you wearing that, anyway? You clearly don't like it." He asked.

"Oh so now you know me? How do you know I don't like it? Maybe I wanted the accent of a collar but not the extra layer of a shirt, Dream." He said, defensively. 

Dream smirked. 

"Am I wrong?" He simply asked, which left George speechless. 

"Well, no-" George started, 

"Then take it off." Dream said softly but almost demanding. 

George narrowed his gaze but took it off. 

The man leaned back in satisfaction. 

"So what's your deal, Dream? First, you laugh at me dropping a book, then you ask me if I can see you, then acted like I was stupid for saying yes, and now you're calling me out. Is there something you're trying to accomplish?" George asked, slightly annoyed. 

"Well, George,"

"I laughed because it was funny. But I asked if you could see me because usually no one can." Dream responded, making George more confused than he was in the first place. 

"Oh, that clears things up. And what are those marks on your arm? Those symbols? Do they mean something?" He asked. 

The man leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. 

"You really don't know?" He asked, genuinely. 

"What do you mean I don't know? Is there something I should know about you?" George asked, wanting to know why this mysterious man was so interesting to him. Why he felt _drawn_ to him. 

"It doesn't make sense. You have the sight. You know that these aren't meaningless symbols, and yet you're still as ignorant as a _mundane._ " he finally said, making George irritated. 

George didn't respond, he sat and thought as the man stared at him. 

George was ignorant, ignorant to what Dream thought George knew. 

His thoughts were interrupted by Sapnap barging through the front door of the shop. 

Both men stood up, staring at the sight of a very tipsy, but not quite drunk, Sapnap. 

"Oh Gogy, I knew I'd find you here. You're such a fucking nerd." Sapnap said, slightly slurring his words. 

George turned to Dream, and Dream looked at the tipsy man in front of him.

"Why are you here all alone? And who were you talking to before I came in?" Sapnap asked, shaking George in his shoes. 

George looked to Dream, who was slightly smirking at the fact that George now knew he had a special ability. 

"What do you mean who was I talking to? You don't see the tall man in the olive crew?" He asked, hoping Sapnap was messing around. 

Sapnap looked at him up and down. 

"Are you sure I'm the drunk one? This book shop is DEAD. But whatever, let's go home. I'm tired." He said, motioning towards the door.

Sapnap left and headed for the car, leaving George alone with Dream. 

"Do you see now I'm not the crazy one for asking if you could see me?" Dream asked, but received no response. 

George put his book back on the shelf and said goodbye to the mysterious man in hopes he would see him again. 

-

Sapnap slept at George's house in his guest bedroom, while George lied awake reminiscing on his previous conversation with the mysterious man in the bookshop. 

George didn't know whether he was crazy or if he was truly speaking to another human. George thought back to the markings on the man's arm. They made out symbols, symbols George had doodled in his notepads before. He thought of Dream's aura, and how he was unsettled at first. He thought of his mother's chest she kept hidden from him all these years, and how they held the same symbols. He thought of the energy emitting from Dream's pocket as if he felt drawn to it. How he felt drawn to Dream. 

He needed to know more, and he needed to know soon. 

George drifted to sleep that night with the encounter on his mind, and the ache to know more of the mysterious man and what he spoke of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did could you maybe leave kudos? I really love the plot I have written for this book, so I'm excited to see where it goes!


	2. shadow

George woke up with a pounding headache from his lack of sleep the previous week. It was Thursday morning and he hadn't gotten more than two to three hours of sleep since the night he met the mysterious man at the book shop. He fell to sleep every night reminiscing their interaction, unable to dismiss it from his mind. He had sorts of nightmares, always resulting in George waking up paralyzed from fear. 

He hadn't talked to his mother about his interaction, nor had he had another encounter with the mysterious man. As time passed, the memory became vague to George, he slowly convinced himself he imagined the entire thing. He couldn't get any of it off his mind, and it was now hindering his work life. He decided after work to go to his mother's and talk about it. 

-

His mother boiled a pot of water for their tea, and they sat on the couch. 

"Mom, I need to talk to you about something." he started. 

"You've noticed the markings." She said, pouring their tea and avoiding eye contact. 

George furrowed his brows. 

"H- how did you know?" He asked. 

"George, I'm your mother. I knew eventually you'd ask questions," she started. 

"You were also inspecting the chest when you walked in the house." She added with a chuckle. 

His cheeks flushed pink. 

"Well, yes. I had an... _interaction_ with someone as well," he responded. 

She raised her brows, holding eye contact with her son. 

"An interaction? With who? Tell me about it." She nearly demanded, worrying him. 

"Well, last week I went with Sa- Nick to a club. And you know me, I hated it. So I left across the street to a book shop," He started. 

"And when I walked in, I saw no one in the shop at all. Nobody in the chairs or on the couches, it was dead. And I walked to the back of the shop to pick out a book to read until Nick was done." he said.

"Suddenly, I noticed a man sitting in one of the chairs near the fireplace, which wasn't there before- or at least I hadn't noticed him. I dropped a book and he laughed, so I made a joke. And he just stared at me like I was crazy. He didn't respond, so I said something else, something stupid to make conversation." he carried on. 

He continued telling his story with no interruptions until he mentioned the markings on the man's arms. 

"He had markings on his arms?" His mother questioned. 

"Yes! The same as the markings on your chest. That is why I was inspecting them when I arrived." He replied. 

He carried on with the story until he was finished. His mother sat and considered what she would say next. She sat her mug on the coffee table and leaned forward, making eye contact with her son. 

"George, I've dreaded telling you this since the day you were born, and I hoped it might go away and you'd never have to find out. But clearly, I've done more harm than good by keeping it from you this long," She started. 

George felt his throat become heavy. 

His mother got up and went to the chest, opening a small unlocked drawer underneath the main compartment of the chest. She pulled out a small wooden rod, no longer than a pencil. It had small engravings wrapping it, and the tip was a pointed white crystal. George felt the same feeling to it he had felt towards Dream the night in the shop. 

She held it as you would hold a pencil, and drew a small symbol onto the chest, glowing after she was finished. The chest opened and George's eyes widened. The symbol she had drawn on the chest opened it, without even a lock. She pulled out another silver rod, this time wider and longer. It looked unfinished- like it was empty. It had a hollow top and looked empty. She walked towards him with the two items and sat in her chair. 

"George, this is going to sound mad but hear me out." She started, setting the items on the table next to him. 

"This is a stele," She said holding up the small wooden object. 

"This is what we use to create those symbols, they're called runes." She explained, seeming eerily calm. As if this were a casual everyday conversation. 

"And this," she started, 

"This is a seraph blade," she said holding up the empty rod. 

George looked at the rod, confused.

"This doesn't look like a blade to me." He said, examining the rod.

"That's because it isn't activated, and hasn't been for over twenty-five years." She said. 

George sat there confused, almost thinking this was another bad nightmare. 

His mother stood up and held the end of the rod and muttered a name under her breath,

 _"Cassiel"_

The rod ignited- a sharp, glowing, white crystal emitted from the end of the rod- making George's eyes widen. 

The rod turned into a sharp, threatening weapon that looked like it could kill George in an instant. He stood up and stepped away from his mother. 

"George, there is nothing to be afraid of." His mother said, saying the name of the blade, resulting in it shrinking back down into an insignificant rod once more. 

She picked up the stele, the crystal glowing underneath her grasp. She handed the stele to George- who took it reluctantly.

He stared at the small, yet powerful, rod in his hand. He felt an energy surge underneath his hand where the stele was, and he no longer felt drawn to it. He had what he had been drawn to in his grasp, it felt right. 

He put the stele on the coffee table and laughed, making his mother confused. 

"You-you've GOT to be kidding me!" he started, 

"Do I look stupid to you? Is this some trick you're playing on me? I told you a personal story of an odd interaction I had and you're mocking me?" He asked. 

His mother's face softened. 

"George, I told you it sounds insane," She said. 

"You are a Shadowhunter, George. You have abilities no mundane has, you're unique. As am I, and as was your father." She said, igniting a feeling of hurt in George's chest at the mention of his father. 

His father died when George was only eight. They were best friends and spent every minute together. George brushed away the thought of his father, focusing on one word his mother had said. 

_Mundane._

It was the same phrase Dream used that night in the book shop, and George realized that mundane was referring to non-supernatural beings. 

"What does that even mean? How am I a Shadow- whatever? Why did you never tell me? Was Dream a Shadowhunter?" These questions filled George's head, sending him spiraling. 

"I think I've told you enough for today, I have errands to run. But George, if you speak to that man from the book shop again, tell him to explain it to you. It might sound better from someone younger." She said, dismissing George. 

He left her house shortly after, leaving her to her supposed 'errands' that she so urgently had to run. 

He sat in his car, contemplating what to do next. He drove, drove until he was calmed down and didn't think he'd jump off a cliff at the next chance. 

-

He and Sapnap were in the same argument they were in the previous Friday night, except for George complied almost immediately in hopes he would see Dream again. 

He wore gray pants and a red hoodie, not giving into Sapnap's pleads for the faux collar. 

The same as the previous week, George left Sapnap after only an hour. He walked into the book shop to another empty chair. He frowned but focused his vision on the chair that Dream was sat in last week. 

There he was, less blurry than last time. He was sat reading a book, looking ignorant as ever to George's presence. 

"Good evening, Shadowhunter," George said, making his way to the back of the store once again to the fiction section. 

Dream shot up and immediately made his way to George, smiling. 

"So you do know! Why did you lie last week?" Dream asked, sounding eager. 

"I didn't, I didn't know last week. I talked with my mother." He said, but losing Dream's gaze to George's jean pocket. 

The stele was sticking out of his pocket, glowing slightly. 

_How the hell did that get there? I didn't even take it from my mother's?_

Dream took it out, examining it. 

"Dang this thing is old, I haven't seen one this old since my father died." Dream said casually, making George's heart hurt. 

"I'm sorry about your father, but what do you mean old? I don't even know how that got in my pocket." George asked, meeting Dream's gaze. 

Dream reached into his jean pocket and pulled out his stele, handing it to George. 

George took it and examined it. It was slimmer and shorter, the length of a pen. Instead of wooden, the stele was silver and cold to the touch. The crystal on the top was duller and clearer than his mother's. The runes on the side of the stele were more carefully engraved, more prominent, and defined. 

"Do you know how to use it?" Dream asked. 

George shook his head, 

"No, that's why I came here. To ask you," He started,

"I need you to tell me what the fuck a Shadowhunter is and why my mother kept the fact that I was one from me for twenty-one years." He said, making Dream smile. 

"How did you know I'd be here?" Dream asked, trying to catch George in a wind of embarrassment. 

"Well it was the only hope I had of finding you, you're nothing but a name. And I don't even know your real name. I hoped you'd be here." George said, making Dream blush and turn away. 

"Oh." Dream simply responded, making George proud of the wave of embarrassment he caught him in. 

They made their way to the seating area and sat. 

"Well, what do you know?" Dream asked. 

"I know almost nothing. I know that my mother, father, and I are all Shadowhunters. I know that thing is called a stele," He said motioning to the small rod in Dream's pocket. 

"And I know what a seraph blade is. That's it." He said. 

"Oh! And I know that my mother hid it from me in hopes I would never find out what I was." He said. 

Dream looked at George, collecting his thoughts. 

"Shadowhunters are part angel part human, in scientific terms," Dream started. 

"But in literal terms, we protect the human world from the supernatural world, we're warriors." He said. 

His mother was right, it did sound less-crazy coming from someone his age. 

"Look, it's complicated. There's supernatural all around us. The owner of this shop is a werewolf." He said, making George's heart rate increase. 

"Don't worry, shadow people and werewolves are on good terms." Dream reassured George. 

"Oh yeah, I'm worried if you guys have beef. Not the fact that you just said werewolves exist and other supernatural creatures do as well." George said sarcastically, making Dream laugh. 

"The reason I asked if you could see me that night was because I had a glamour on, making myself invisible to mundanes." He said, that word ringing in George's ears again. 

"So that's what we are to you people? We're boring?" George asked defensively. 

"George," He started, the sound of Dream saying his name made George's ears ring.

"You're no mundane, you have the sight. You can see me, even when I'm glamoured. Only supernatural can do that, meaning you're like me." Dream said. 

"Okay, what are those marks on your arms?" George asked, trying to grasp the concept. 

"These are my runes, I use the stele to create and activate them." He said, pulling up his sweatshirt sleeves to reveal tens of black markings. 

"Don't freak out, promise?" He asked George, who nodded.

He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and slid it on top of his hand, making blood pool out of the cut the knife made. 

George watched calmly, to Dream's surprise. 

Dream took the stele from his pocket and glided it over a rune, similar to an alphabetical character. The marking glowed, fading into a white scar on his hand. The cut closed on his hand and left a scab of blood, but no scar. 

George was in awe, and he took Dream's hand to inspect it. 

Both of them shifted at the sudden move from George, but George was too engulfed in Dream's sorcery that he brushed it off. 

"That is amazing! How did you do that?" George asked, sounding like a little kid. 

Dream smiled and drew his stele back to his arm. 

"It's called an Iratze, the healing rune. It fades after use, but you can redraw it." He said, drawing the rune back over its scar. 

The stele glowed, leaving a burning sound and a trail of embers after being drawn. Dream bit the inside of his cheek as he drew the rune.

"Is that hurting you?" George asked. 

Dream put his stele in his jean pocket and smiled. 

"It's more of a sting, but no it isn't comfortable." He replied. 

"What do the other ones mean?" George asked. 

Dream giggled slightly. 

"That would take forever to explain, Shadowhunters go through years, even decades of training learning the runes and what they mean. But you can pick a few and I'll explain them." He said, motioning for George to inspect his arm. 

George peered at his forearm, but nothing caught his eye. 

"Could I see your others?" He asked, making Dream raise an eyebrow. 

He sat for a minute, then pulled his sweatshirt off. His shirt raised slightly in the front, making George flush. He looked away and reached for his pen and notebook in his bag. 

Dream looked at George pulling out his notebook, avoiding eye contact. 

_Why was that so tense?_ , they both thought to themselves.

"Do you mind if I write them down? I'd like to study them." George asked, piquing Dream's interest. He didn't think George would be so interested. 

"Of course." He replied. 

George inspected Dream's runes, brushing his fingertips over them if he found them interesting. 

"What is this one?" George asked, pointing to a rune on Dream's inner bicep.

"That is the Courage in Combat rune, it does as it says. Provides those who wear it with bravery above and beyond that of a typical demon slayer." Dream responded. 

George took his pencil and sketched the rune almost perfectly, shocking Dream. 

"How did you draw that so perfectly? Have you seen it before?" He asked, staring at the boy's perfect symbol. 

"No, I haven't," George started, "But I liked it because it kinda looks like a dragon." He said, smiling. 

Dream looked at the rune, noticing it indeed did look similar to a dragon. He'd never noticed until now. 

George examined Dream's body even longer, settling again on a rune just below his right wrist. 

"What's this one? I recognize this." George said. 

"Mental Excellence. It gives the wearer mental excellence, typically when we're learning in the academy. Where do you recognize it from?" Dream asked. 

"I've drawn it before," George responded, making Dream curious.

"I drew it on my notebook before my school tests, I always got perfect scores," He said. 

"I never clearly saw it in my head, I just let my hand move where it wanted and it appeared on my notebook. It always gave me a confidence boost before tests, so it became a regular thing." He said, confusing Dream. 

"That's odd, runes aren't supposed to work without a stele. Are you sure it was the rune or was it a placebo effect?" He asked. 

George shook his head, drawing the rune in his notebook as if it were a simple letter. 

"No it definitely helped, I forgot to do it one time because I was flustered and I nearly failed and had to retake the quiz." He said, making Dream think. 

George changed the subject, as he was too consumed with the beautiful markings to care. 

"What is this one?" he asked, touching Dream's collarbone.

His hands were soft and barely touched the surface of his skin, which sent chills down Dream's spine. 

"Angelic Power. That is the rune the Angel Raziel gives every Shadowhunter at their Rune Ceremony, it is the most important rune given to a Shadowhunter. Considering that it gives a Shadowhunter most of his power. A Silent Brother gives it to us." He said. 

"I'm going to pretend I know what a silent brother is," George said drawing the rune in his notebook, writing 'angelic power' underneath it. 

Dream pulled his sweatshirt back over his head, making George frown. 

"I'm not done," George pleaded.

"I am." Dream said, making George sink in his chair. 

_Did I upset him with all my questions?_

"Oh, I'm sorry," George said softly. 

Dream laughed and sat with his forearms on his legs, closer to George.

"Don't be, I'm done talking about me. I want to learn about you, learn what you've done in a world full of mundanes for the past twenty years." Dream said, easing George's nerves. 

"Well, what do you want to know? I'm not exactly the most interesting person." George asked. 

"Everything. What do you do every day? Who are your friends? What holidays do you celebrate? I've never spoken to a mundane and actually enjoyed their presence, I want to know." He said, making George smile. 

Dream enjoyed talking to George. 

"Not much, I work for a coding company. I work with my best friend, Nick, the one who came in here the other night drunk off his ass. In my free time, I pl-" He stopped himself from confessing he played a children's game. 

"I read. I read, a lot in my free time." He responded. 

Dream raised his brows at George's stutter. 

"You play what?" He asked, making George flush. 

"Oh nothing, it's a dumb game I play with my friend," he said. 

"What's it about?" Dream asked, engaged.

"You just like- build things. And you kill the boss of the game, and you build a world. It's hard to explain." He said. 

"You'll have to show me sometime, I'm intrigued." Dream replied, smirking. 

"Speaking of, how do I contact you? All I know is that you like reading in this book store late in the evening." George said, trying to change the subject. 

"You can just ask me for my number, I don't bite." Dream said, making George blush again. 

"Well, I didn't know if you even had one. I don't know how Shadowhunters work." George replied, and Dream nodded in agreement. 

"Fair enough, here," Dream said, writing his number down on George's notebook. 

"Thank you. What else would you like to know about my mundane life?" He asked. 

"Who's this Nick guy, I heard you call him Sapnap last week. What does that mean?" Dream asked. 

"Oh, it's my nickname for him. It's pandas backward with the d upside down." He said. 

Dream thought for a moment, realizing it was in fact pandas backward. 

"Interesting. What's your nickname?" He asked, getting a confused look in return.

"I mean, I'm Dream, Nick is Sapnap. What's your name?" Dream asked.

"I don't really have one. I just go by George." George replied. 

Suddenly, Sapnap was calling George.

George answered the phone and held it to his ear, being greeted with a loud scream from Sapnap.

"GOGGGYYYY" Sapnap yelled into the phone so loud Dream heard it. 

Dream wheezed, laughing. 

George laughed at the odd noise Dream made when he laughed really hard. 

"What do you want Sapnap? Are you ready to go back?" George asked. 

There was no response, just the loud sound of music and people making out. 

George fake-gagged. 

"Sapnap, I'm coming to get you. I'll be there in five minutes." George said, rolling his eyes at his friend. 

"So, Gogy, you do have a nickname." Dream said, making George roll his eyes. 

"Well, sorry for the abrupt end to our night, but Sapanp needs me," George said, packing his things. 

"This doesn't have to be the end, I'll help you get him." Dream said. 

"Well, do you have your I.D. on you? You'll need it." George asked, making Dream light up with an idea. 

"Well, if you're willing, I can get both of us in there effortlessly." Dream said, pointing down at his arm to a rune. 

"Will I be fine? I've never had one used on me before." George asked. 

"Eh, we'll see." Dream said pulling up George's sleeve. 

"What the hell!" George said, half laughing, which made Dream wheeze again. 

"I'm joking, you don't have to if you don't want to. It'll just make that mile long line way shorter." Dream said, motioning towards the growing line outside of the club. 

George rolled his eyes and lifted his sleeve for Dream to draw the rune on him. 

Dream beamed with excitement from George's willingness to have his first rune drawn on him by Dream. 

Dream held George's arm gently and started drawing with the stele. 

His arm burned, but not unbearably. He bit the inside of his cheek at the burn, but it was soon over and Dream pulled back. 

The symbol was black like Dream's arms, and he examined it. It resembled a question mark. 

They looked at each other with bright smiles, and George pulled out his mother's stele from his jean pocket. 

"Do you know how to use it?" Dream asked. 

George shook his head. 

Dream took George's stele and hand in his hand in his and guided the stele across the marking. The rune glowed, making George's heart rate increase- which Dream felt in his hand. Soon, the rune was a white scar and George felt the same as before. 

"Did it work?" George asked, putting his mother's stele in his bag. 

Dream nodded as he activated his rune and put his stele in his pocket. 

-

They walked through the front door as if nothing happened, nobody even noticed them. George welled up with excitement when Dream came up to him and motioned for him to pull out his stele again. George looked at Dream in confusion. 

"I need to draw the visibility rune, or else Sapnap can't see us." He explained to George, making George wince at the thought of another rune. He agreed and Dream began to draw the rune on his arm above the white scar. 

The pain was already not as bad as the first time and it was over quicker as well. This time, George was able to activate his rune on his own, making him happy. 

They walked to Sapnap and had to practically pry him off of a girl. Thankfully this time he wasn't drunk off his ass. They exited the bar and went to George's car and sat down. 

George and Dream were in the front and Sapnap climbed in the backseat. Sapnap looked at Dream confused at the other man in the car.

"Who's this guy?" Sapnap asked, being tipsy enough to lose his filter. Dream smiled.

"I'm Dream. Nice to meet you, Sapnap." He said, effortlessly easing the tension in the air. 

"How did George manage to make a friend within three hours," Sapnap asked. George rolled his eyes at his friend's comment, but his friends laughed together.

They got out of George's car and stood on the sidewalk, talking about random things. 

"Oh no, I left my phone in the bookshop. I'll be right back." George said, leaving the two. Dream followed, leaving Sapnap alone on the sidewalk. 

"Dream," George started, facing Dream.

"I want to learn more about this. I want to learn more about this world, I want to know how to draw my own runes and how to use a seraph blade." George continued, making Dream smile. 

-

Sapnap stood outside of the bookshop as his friends looked for George's phone. Sapnap was barely even tipsy, he had only had one or two beers. But he wanted to eavesdrop on George and Dream without them censoring because he was sober. There was something different about the way George acted around Dream, he acted more sincere. Sapnap also noticed George was hiding something from him. Something important to him, and he wouldn't tell Sapnap about it. 

Sapnap stood drowning in his own thoughts when he felt a sudden force around his hands, binding them to his side. He felt lightheaded and paralyzed. He was confused and scared, he tried to call his friends for help- but no words came out of his mouth. He collapsed to the floor, leaning his back against the wall of the bookshop. He felt a force lifting him off the floor and moving him out of sight from the window of the shop. His vision was blurred, but he could see two male figures appear in front of him. 

"Why are we taking his friend? He hasn't even done anything to us. He hasn't done anything to our kind either." The shorter boy said. 

The taller one scoffed. 

"He specifically hasn't done anything yet, but we need him to send a warning. We'll hold him ransom until they contact us, we'll figure out what to do with him then." The tall one replied to his smaller friend. 

Sapnap was scared, but falling in and out of consciousness. 

"I don't understand what this mundane has to do with it though, he barely knows Dream." The shorter boy said to his friend. 

The boys appeared young, no older than sixteen or seventeen years old. The tall one was nearly a foot taller than his friend. They were dressed in cotton tunics and corduroy pants, a strange outfit for the beginning of winter. They had a warm aura surrounding them, Sapnap felt it around himself too. He noticed nobody around him could see him or the boys surrounding him. He was hidden from anyone that could help him. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew there was nothing mundane about this situation. 

"Toby just shut up and cast the spell will you?" The taller boy said, looking at his friend. His friend rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist, muttering a spell under his breath. Sapnap passed out and fell to the ground. 

-

Dream and George left the shop, realizing they had been away from Sapnap for over twenty minutes. They walked outside and didn't see their friend standing where he was before, nor was he in the car. George frantically called his phone, only to hear it ringing from inside the car. Dream looked around, feeling a supernatural presence. George realized his friend kneeling down and touching a big pothole left on the sidewalk. 

"What is that?" George asked his friend. Dream shook his head and stared at the hole, knowing exactly what had happened. 

_"Tommy and his fucking cobblestone."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed it! I love the storyline I have planned out for this book and I'm excited to see where it goes! If you have any suggestions or criticisms, leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to respond!


	3. embers

George followed Dream's car as it maneuvered its way through the streets of Jacksonville. His eyes brimming with tears, he tried to calm himself. Sapnap was no warrior, but he could manage his way through any normal fight. But this was no normal fight, this was a _supernatural_ fight. 

George couldn't help but feel terrible about dragging his friend into his quarrel with the supernatural universe. He hadn't even done anything and he was already causing problems for himself. He sighed and continued following Dream's car, which was going way too fast. 

-

As Sapnap regained consciousness, he was met with the sight of the two men that took him hostage. His wrists were chained on the floor and he was lying down on a stiff mattress in the middle of what looked to be a bedroom. The two boys made their way to him, the taller one pulling a stool to sit on. 

"Princess has woken up," The tall blonde said. 

Sapnap barely had any energy at all, he felt the life being sucked out of him when he was paralyzed on the sidewalk. 

"Not very talkative, are we?" The blonde said, looking at Sapnap.

Sapnap just stared at him. Mainly because he was tired, but also because he was trying to process what the hell happened to him and why these, seemingly harmless, children managed to take him as their hostage. 

"Fine then, I'll start," He said again with his very strong British accent. It reminded Sapnap of George, it reminded him about how his friend was only a hundred feet away from saving his life but he didn't have the power to call for help. He worried he would never see his friend again. 

"I'm Tommy, this is my friend Toby-" The boy started before being cut off by his friend.

"Tubbo, I don't like using my actual name around mundanes." His friend corrected.

"Right," Tommy said as he turned to look at Tubbo.

The word made Sapnap think, _Mundanes._ He had heard George mention the term a few times, he wondered if George knew about this. 

"Well, let's cut the bullshit. Your friend has done some shitty things to our kind and we took you to send him a message," Tommy started. 

"But don't worry, he and his little British boy toy will be here soon. I've left a message, they just need to find you." He said, confusing Sapnap.

What did he mean 'their kind'? What is this tall, confused blonde on about? 

"What do you mean 'your kind'? The hell are you on about?" Sapnap asked, finally speaking. 

"Oh, so he speaks?" The brunette asked, shooting him a surprised look. 

"Listen here mate, I don't have anything against you. You actually seem like a pretty cool guy, well actually I can't say that with full confidence considering the only time I've ever seen you is with Dream, who I have never ending beef with. You might be asking why I've taken you and not his new little boy interest, well you see-" Tommy rambled about, before being cut off by Tubbo. 

"Tommy," Tubbo said, stopping his tangent. 

"Right, sorry." He replied. 

"Well if you have nothing against me, which is accurate because I've never seen you in my whole Goddamn life, why the hell am I here? What did Dream do to you that was so terrible you had to take his friend for?" Sapnap blurted out, considering if becoming friends with Dream was even worth it.

"Dream- as you all call him- has been on our bad side our entire lives. More specifically my bad side. Since the day I was born all I heard of was 'oh Dream this' or 'Dream that' even when I was a little kid. From the day I was fuckin' born all I heard of was this Shadowhunter child that would someday take his father's place in the Clave," He started.

"Which will probably come true considering his father is dead now. Anyway, I was excited to meet this fellow. I was, I wanted to meet the infamous Dream that everyone talked about and every girl swooned for. Until I did, I met him after his buddy killed my uncle." Tommy said, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of his uncle's dead body lying before him.

"Gosh, Punz is such a dick," Tubbo said. 

"I know right? He killed my fuckin' uncle and he's got a Z in his name, what a fuckin' bitch." Tommy agreed. 

"Anyway, this is taking too long and dinner is nearly ready. The moral of the story is Dream is an ass and I hate him, but I need him to owe me a favor. Because no matter how much of a dick he is, he's an amazing Shadowhunter, one of the best I've seen. So I need him to owe me for not killing his pal." Tommy ended, leaving Sapnap scared. 

Tommy put his stool to the desk and started for the door, turning around to speak one last time. 

"Who knows, maybe my plan will fail and I'll have to kill you anyway. Then maybe it'll prove to my father how little Dream cares for his friends." Tommy said with a smirk on his face. 

"I'll have a guard send up your dinner shortly. Don't be loud, I really don't want to have to cast a noise-canceling spell on your room." Tommy said, closing and locking the door. 

Sapnap was confused out of his mind. He had met Dream three hours before this moment, or longer for all he knew, and he was already being threatened with his life if this stranger didn't pull through. 

Sapnap yawned and his stomach growled, making him groan in discomfort. 

He lied on the stiff bed until he heard his door unlock and a tray of food was given to him by a guard. His door was locked again and not opened until the next morning for his breakfast. 

The abundance of food and water he was given proved that Tommy wasn't trying to torture him, he just needed him to get a favor. Which was twisted, but valid. 

Sapnap lied down thinking about what Tommy had said. 

_Shadowhunter. Mundane. Our kind. Spell._

The strange words lingered in his head as he drifted to sleep.

-

George parked his car and stepped into the cold wind outside, meeting Dream on the steps of an abandoned church. George was confused but followed Dream wherever he went. 

"Look at the building like how you look at me when I'm glamoured." Dream said, noticing George's confusion. 

He followed his instructions and noticed the run-down church start to fade into a beautiful, futuristic building with massive metal doors where the wilted wooden ones stood before. They walked in the front door, being welcomed by a perfect 70º room. Dream led George through a series of corridors until he came upon the kitchen, in which three people were sitting around the island. 

The kitchen was beautiful, white marble countertops and shiny white cupboards were lining the walls. There were three ovens and a huge island in the middle of the room, as well as high barstools made of black leather and metal.

"Dream! Welcome home! I've made dinner and there's a cake in the oven, are you hungry?" A blonde woman said softly. Her voice was as soft and tranquil as a fluffy blanket and she wore silver-rimmed glasses. She was nearly as tall as George and wore her hair in a low ponytail. 

"Thank you, Niki, but we have a problem on our hands," Dream said. 

"This is George by the way. George, this is Niki, Punz, and Wilbur." Dream said, motioning to the people gathered around the island. 

Punz was taller than George, but not as tall as Dream. He wore black pants and a white hooded sweatshirt, and he wore his blonde hair back in a small bun.

And Wilbur was very tall, at least two inches taller than Dream was. He had wavy brown hair and round glasses, similar to Niki's. He wore a maroon crewneck and black pants and had a deeper voice than the rest.

They all waved and smiled at George, who did the same, but they all four shifted their attention to Dream. He leaned onto the island and began talking. 

"Our friend, Nick, has been taken by sorcerers." Dream said, resulting in a puzzled look from the group. 

"How did that even happen? And aren't the called Warlock?" Niki asked. 

"Not these ones, he was taken by Tommy and Tubbo. Those of which are not Warlock, they're amateurs. Tommy wouldn't hurt him, considering he's a mundane," He started but was cut off by Punz. 

"Wait yeah, is he a mundane?" He asked motioning to George. 

George looked at Dream, who gave him a reassuring smile and turned back to Punz. 

"No, he's a Shadowhunter. It's a long story, but look," He said pulling George's sleeve up revealing the scar from the rune Dream had drawn on him earlier that night. 

The group looked, seeing the scar and refocusing their attention back to Dream. 

"Tommy wouldn't hurt Nick, nor would Tubbo let him. But Tommy still thinks we killed his uncle, so I'm assuming he's sending us a message. And I can't have anything happen to Nick, so we're going." Dream said, resulting in nods from the group. 

The Shadowhunters were nothing like George thought they would be. They were all... normal. None of them looked like they had any supernatural to them, besides their abundance of tattoos. Wilbur seemed to be the oldest, followed by Punz. Niki was the shortest and the youngest but held herself very well. She looked powerful and confident, but she also had a soft side George could see right away. 

"Dream I know Tommy, he wouldn't hurt Nick. But it's nearly 1 am. This is a job for the morning. Our friend here also doesn't seem to have any experience in this field- do you?" Wilbur asked George, to which George shook his head. 

"See? What if we all eat and sleep tonight, also letting Nick sleep and regain his strength from the weakness spells they used on him- no doubt that's what they used- and we help our friend here in the morning. We mark him up, give him a blade, and head on our way. The Warlock center is not far from here, and we all could use a night's rest before we potentially battle with magical creatures." Wilbur said, making a fair point. 

George felt pain in his heart, he worried about Sapnap. He worried the boys would hurt him, and he worried Sapnap might think he had forgotten about him. Dream saw the worry in his friend's face and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think that's a great idea, Wilbur." Dream said with a reassuring grip on George's shoulder. Even just a shoulder grab from Dream calmed George down. 

"George, would you like something to eat? I can make you a sandwich, or you can eat the pasta I've prepared." Niki said, changing the subject. 

"Oh- no thank you. I think I'm going to head home and sleep, but I'll be back early tomorrow morning." George said, making Dream dart his eyes toward him with a confused glance. 

"Absolutely not, you're not going home." Dream said.

"Dude, don't even feel weird staying here. It's literally just us in this massive institute. There's plenty of guest bedrooms and I'm sure Dream can lend you clothes to sleep in." Punz said, agreeing with Dream. 

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose." George said, his voice low. 

"Yes! Absolutely, and are you sure you're not hungry? It's really no problem, I feed these insatiable beasts all day long." She said motioning to the guys who gave her dirty looks. 

George laughed, easing his nerves. He ate and got to know the group, he learned Wilbur is from the same part of England George is from. After dinner, everyone parted ways and George followed Dream to a guest bedroom across the hallway from his own. 

Dream gave George a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie for him to sleep in for the night, which was too big for him considering Dream is at least twice his size. He still felt anxious about Sapnap, wondering if he was even alive. Dream noticed again and rested his hands on George's shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. 

"George, Sapnap is fine. We know Tommy and Tubbo. Tubbo wouldn't hurt a fly and Tommy doesn't kill without reason. They're only sixteen and seventeen years old, we're going to save Sapnap, don't worry." Dream said softly. The mixture of Dream's touch along with his soft voice and kind words added to an already fragile George made him nearly breakdown crying. He knew this was all his fault, and he couldn't escape it. 

Dream's eyes softened and he pulled George into a warm hug. He comforted George in a way George didn't know was possible. He felt entirely safe in Dream's arms as if nothing was a threat. He felt a bubble around them, shielding them from the outside world of danger and sadness. George wasn't crying, he was calm. He was appreciating the calm before the storm. He pulled away, resulting in a confused Dream. 

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," George started. 

"Sapnap is my best friend, my brother, I've spent every moment with him since we were twelve years old. The thought of him being hurt by a couple of spiteful teenagers hurts me more than it hurts him." George said, making Dream's heartache. 

"I understand George, but you're also very tired. I can see it in your face. I'll leave you to sleep, but if you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, I'm direct across the hall, ok? I'm serious, George. I know this is all new to you, and I want to help you. But first, you need to sleep." Dream said as George's eyes fluttered from tiredness. 

He nodded and Dream left, making George feel as alone as ever. 

-  
George slept terribly, the thought of his friend possibly being hurt because of him made his stomach churn. He woke up groggy and still exhausted. For a moment after he woke, he thought he was at home in his bed about to get up and feed his cat. But alas, he was in a completely foreign place surrounded by strangers and the mysterious man he met at the book shop. 

He got dressed and knocked on Dream's bedroom door to give him back his clothes. He didn't get a response after his knock so he began to walk away until he heard a very muffled Dream tell him to come in. He opened the door to see a half-asleep Dream tangled up in his bedding. He had very messy hair and drool staining his cheek. George giggled at his friend's bed-head and gave him the clothes Dream had given him to sleep in. 

"Nice drool," George giggled, making Dream cover his face with his pillow. 

"Shut up, I just woke up." He said, his voice deep and raspy. George had never heard his voice so deep, he always had a higher tone in his voice, so hearing the deepness in his voice surprised him. 

"Jeez, your voice is so deep in the morning. You sound like Wilbur." George said.

"Did you just wake up and decide to be mean to me or is this just how you are in the morning?" Dream asked, sitting up and messing with his hair. 

"I'm not much of a morning person. You were also the first thing I saw this morning, so that sucked." George said, making Dream roll his eyes. 

"I'm the best thing to see when you wake up, considering I'm such a beautiful sight to see." He responded, making George chuckle. 

"Yeah, ok drool boy," George responded, looking around Dream's room analyzing it. 

"I'm hot, you can't even deny it." Dream snapped back, making George stop in his tracks. 

"What?" He asked. 

"it's ok, George, you can just admit it." He said, walking closer to George, making George nervous. 

"What the hell is wrong with you, it's 9 am and you're already hitting on me, you're weird." George snipped back, making Dream blush.

"WHAT that's not true..." He responded smiling. 

George smirked as he opened the door to leave. 

"It's ok, Dream, you can just admit it." He said, mocking his friend's words as he closed the door. There was no response, but he almost didn't want one. He messed around with Sapnap all the time, they blatantly flirted in front of their other friends with no second thought, so why did saying that kind of joke feel weird towards Dream? 

He walked into the kitchen to see Niki stood at the stove, no doubt making breakfast for everyone. 

"Good morning, Niki," George said, sitting at the island and pulling out his phone. 

Niki turned around and her face lit up before she responded. 

"Good morning, George! How'd you sleep?" She said, whipping her head to George after she flipped her pancakes. 

"I slept pretty well, thank you. How'd you sleep?" He asked. Niki was very easy to talk to, he felt safe talking to her. He wouldn't doubt that she had no bad bone in her body. They spoke for twenty minutes until the rest of the guys came down to eat breakfast. 

George spoke with Niki, Punz, and Wilbur well into the morning until they all simultaneously remembered Sapnap was still being held, hostage. 

Dream didn't eat with the rest of the group, he immediately went to train in the training room. George noticed he wasn't there and left the group to find him, thanking Niki for breakfast as he left. 

He walked into a large room lined with mirrors and saw Dream in the middle of the room sparring with a hologram of a warrior. George was in awe of the advanced technology and he watched Dream destroy the hologram as it disintegrated into pixels. Dream was panting as he whispered the seraph blade's name, watching as it shrunk back down to a hollow rod. 

"That was pretty cool," George said, making Dream shoot his gaze toward George. 

"Thank you, Gogy." He replied, grabbing a blade and handing it to George. 

"What is its name?" George asked, examining the blade. 

"Camael. Named after an angel." He replied. 

"I know," George said.

Dream laughed at the boy's confidence. 

"Oh hey, I'm sorry about what I said earlier in your room. Sapnap and I joke all the time like that and I got carried away." George said, feeling the tension between the two rise. 

"It's completely fine, I didn't mind." Dream responded making the hair on the back of George's neck stand up.

"Oh really, did you?" He asked. 

"I didn't. Here let me show you how to use this thing." Dream said changing the subject. 

Soon the others filed into the room and they all prepared for the mission. Dream covered George in runes and gave him a new stele. They headed on their way to where Sapnap was being held. Dream and George rode alone while Punz and Wilbur rode together in Punz's car. Niki stayed at the institute to be prepared for them when they return, or to be backup if they need it. 

Dream and George didn't speak. There was tension in the car so thick you could reach out and touch it. They didn't know why there was so much tension, but they both thought it best to leave it alone until they had a more private time to discuss it. 

George had a massive lump in his throat, he was so nervous about what the outcome of this mission would entail. If he could, he would go back to before he met Dream and all of this would go away. But would he? Would he take back meeting Dream and his newfound love for the Shadow world? 

Before he could finish his thoughts, the car stopped and Dream got out, giving no second thought to George. George got out of the car and walked to where Punz and Wilbur were, rather than where Dream was. Dream glared at them all, but they all followed him to the front gate where Dream was stood, collecting his thoughts. Dream rang the buzzer of the gate and a beeping noise went off before the gate opened and the group walked in. 

They were stood in a large ballroom surrounded by guards until Tommy and Tubbo walked into the room. Dream turned to face Tommy, but Tommy's only interest was in George. The blonde, as tall as Dream, glared down at George with a mischievous smirk. George's heart started rapidly beating as Dream stood in front of George, blocking Tommy's gaze on him. 

"Why are we here, Tommy?" Dream asked. Tommy turned to meet Dream's glance. 

"Well, you see Dream," The boy started. 

"I'm in no rush to cause problems with the shadow children again. I know how you guys handle anger," He said glaring at Punz, who avoided eye contact. 

"So I'm willing to make you a deal: I'll give you back the mundy for no cost," He said. Tommy seemed so calm in all of this like it was second nature to him. Like it was second nature to threaten people. 

"What's the catch then, Tommy?" Wilbur spoke up, making Tommy shift his glance to him. 

"Ah Wilbur, so lovely to see you again. Sucks we have to be on opposing sides, innit?" Tommy said. 

Tommy and Wilbur were best friends no longer than a decade ago. They spent every moment together, and Wilbur was like an older brother to Tommy. That is until the Shadowhunters killed Tommy's uncle, driving a wedge between their bond.

"Look, I'm tired of being at war with you people. Though I love chaos, and I really do," Tommy started. 

"I'm ready for all of this to be over and we can go back to being allies. But the reason I've taken your mundane friend is that I need to have the upper hand- I need the beloved Dream to owe me a favor." He finally said, solidifying Wilbur's suspicions.

"What? Why do you need me to owe you a favor? Your move for an act of alliance is to take my friend- who has nothing to do with us by the way- and threaten him unless I agree to owe you a favor?" Dream said, nearly laughing. 

"That's just it, Dream. You all killed my uncle, which doesn't bother me much anymore considering he was an arsehole, but we never got our payback. You killed one of our own and we never retaliated. Nothing ever happened to you. My father is too much of a peacekeeper to retaliate, even at the cost of his brother's vengeance. So yes, this is an act of alliance. A very peaceful one at that." Tommy said. He made a fair point considering the Warlock never did get their vengeance. No matter who did it, a Shadowhunter killed a Warlock in cold blood. That's grounds for war among the two, but the Warlock never fought back. 

Dream would've refused the offer and declared war to get his friend back, that is until he looked down to his left and saw a very scared and tired George. His eyes were soft, and he looked a few hours short of exhausted. He could tell his friend was unprepared for war and especially unprepared for war over his friend. George thought this was all his fault, and Dream could tell. The sight of George shifted something in his mind; he wasn't angry. He didn't feel the same fire in his heart he had felt toward Tommy and getting back at him for taking Sapnap. He instead had embers catching flame for another fire; saving George from himself. 

He looked back to Tommy, who was expecting Dream to say no and fire an arrow at his heart, which he would have to block with magic. 

"Fine. But after I finish whatever you want of me we are allies and owe nothing to each other. Got it, Tommy?" Dream said assertively. He felt his nerves ease as George let out a sigh of relief. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get him, but you must do whatever I tell you to do when the time comes." He said walking away, leaving Tubbo with the group. He had the same look of exhaustion that George had on his face. He looked done, done with everything. 

Suddenly, Tubbo ran into Wilbur's arms. Wilbur embraced Tubbo, as Tubbo was also like a younger brother to him before the conflict. 

"I just want us all to go back to how it was before it all went wrong," Tubbo whispered into Wilbur's chest, considering Wilbur was an entire foot taller than Tubbo. 

"Me too, Toby. Me too." Wilbur whispered back as Tubbo went back to where he was standing before Tommy left. 

Tommy walked down the stairs with Sapnap trailing behind him, he looked petrified. But George didn't care, he ran to the stairs as Sapnap ran to the floor and they crashed into a tight hug, George nearly crying from all of his pent-up anger and frustration. Sapnap giggled into George's ear which brought a smile to his face, easing the nerves he'd been pushing down for the past day. 

"Jeez, you act like I was kidnapped," Sapnap said through giggles. George pulled away and slapped Sapnap's arm. 

"That's because you were you idiot! You had me scared half to death!" George said laughing. The two laughed as they walked back to the group. 

Dream watched George as he lit up after being reunited with his best friend. It warmed his heart seeing George so purely happy. But he couldn't push down the selfish feeling that ached inside of him,

_He wanted to be that source of happiness. He wanted George to feel that way when he saw Dream._

He pushed down the feeling as they walked to the cars. George and Sapnap sat in the backseat as Dream drove. It was raining, which made Dream's mood even worse. Dream didn't join in on their conversation on their way back to the Institute. Partly because he wanted them to catch up- but also because he couldn't push aside the feeling he had inside the ballroom, and he hated himself for feeling that way. He didn't know why he felt that way, but it was undeniable that he did. 

George felt happy for the first time in hours since his friend went missing, and they talked about the supernatural world. He had to tell Sapnap what was going on, but the way Sapnap handled it made him feel better than he did before telling him. He was happy to have his best friend back, but he couldn't help but notice the tension between him and Dream. Dream wasn't telling him something, but he was too excited about Sapnap being back to care at the moment. 

-

Sapnap was happy to be home, no doubt. But he was terrified of what was to come. Nobody saw it. Nobody saw anything. They didn't see the energy radiating from his hands or the way he managed to remove the cuffs that were keeping him confined to the room he was in. They didn't see the circles of heat that emitted from his hands as he was shivering. They didn't see the way he moved things with his mind, and they didn't see how different he was after they left the Headquarters. They didn't see any of it, they also didn't notice the look of knowing Tommy gave him before he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyooo. thank you for reading! leave a comment if u enjoyed pls i love hearing feedback! I'm not too happy with the writing quality in this one considering it took me 2 days to finish, but it's longer than any of my previous chapters so I'm happy with that. :D


	4. seelie

George woke up in the comfort of his bed. He woke to his cat purring and sleeping next to him, making him smile. He felt as he did three weeks ago when his life was still normal. He almost forgot what his life had turned into until he got a text message from Niki. 

_"good morning george! could you and nick come in today?"_

George smiled at Niki's kind words but groaned at the situation. It had been a week since they had saved Sapnap from Tommy, and he and Dream had barely spoken. Niki had invited the two over for dinner once or twice, but besides that, he hadn't seen or spoken to Dream at all. He was worried his friend was already done with him, which made him sad. He felt so safe with Dream, he missed his warm hugs and oversized sweater he slept in that night. 

_What am I even saying? What is going on with me?_

He told her they would be in around one pm, but he slowly scrolled down to Dream's contact and started writing a message. 

_"Is everything ok? We haven't spoken since Tommy's, did I do something wrong?"_

-

Dream read and re-read the text at least ten times. He didn't know how to respond. How do you go about pretending everything is fine when everything is clearly not fine? 

_Why do I feel this way? Why can't I just be satisfied with being his friend? Why do I get so nervous around him? Why did our conversation in my room that day feel so.... right?_

He drowned in his thoughts, continuing to read and re-read the message again. He couldn't tell him anything. At least not yet. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and he wasn't sure why he felt this way about a bookworm he met on a whim. 

_"Everything is fine, I'm sorry I've been standoffish. I've been dealing with some personal stuff, but you did nothing :)"_

But he did everything. He made Dream nervous, like no one in his life ever had. He wanted to impress him every chance he got. He made him weak, like his legs could give out at any moment. 

_"Oh Dream, I'm sorry. If you're comfortable talking about it I'm always here :]"_

How badly he wanted to tell him everything. He wanted to tell him everything he was feeling. He wanted to tell him so badly why he's been distancing himself. But Dream didn't even know enough about himself to assess the situation, let alone how much he knew about George. 

He responded to his message with a half-assed thank you as he got in the shower. He shuffled his library and 'Blue' by Keshi played. The song was beautiful. Dream loved the song, but until now he had never truly paid attention to the lyrics. 

_Go back but not the same  
I don't want you to see me  
Cause I'm not what I seem_

Though the song was about missing friends, he couldn't help but feel the same about George. He didn't want to see George because he knew he wasn't the same as he was the night last week in the bookshop before everything went wrong. He wasn't the same friendly, outgoing guy that could talk to him like nothing. He was fragile now, fragile to George's words. He didn't know when or why this had happened, but he wasn't the same as he was before.

The guitar in the song brought Dream tranquility, bringing him back from his moment of sadness. His father used to play guitar for him every night before bed, the song brought him back to the calming songs his father used to play for him as a child. 

_Tear me to pieces  
I won't even feel it  
You're not what I needed  
Move on with the seasons_

The lyrics played in his ear as he stood in the steaming water. The water cleared his sinuses and calmed him down. He shut off the water and got dressed to get breakfast. 

He sat with the other three in the kitchen in silence until Niki spoke up. 

"Dream, are you and George okay? He hasn't come since I invited him and Nick over for dinner." She asked, all of them waiting for Dream's response.

"We're fine, nothing happened." He said dryly. The rest knew the story went deeper but knew not to ask. Niki knew something was wrong, though, and he pulled Dream aside after she was done cleaning breakfast. 

"Dream what's happening? You barely leave your room, and when you do it's to eat. You haven't even trained since the mission. Please tell me, I promise not to tell the others." She said. Niki was such an easy person to talk to and Dream knew she meant what she said, so he confessed. 

"Honestly, I don't even know what happened. One minute we were close friends and the next moment was just... different. I found myself doing things to impress him, and doing things for his approval. And when he got super happy after being reunited with Sapnap- sorry, Nick- I got, I don't know... jealous? It was weird, I felt happy that we saved Nick because I was worried about him too, but I also got a knot in my stomach and that jealousy feeling in my chest." He said to Niki. It felt good to confess his feelings to someone, even if it wasn't George. 

"Dream, don't get offended when I ask you this, but do you think you might have more than friendship feelings for George? Because it's one thing to want to look good for our friends, but if the way you describe your situation is true, it doesn't sound like you're looking for friendship approval from him." She said, careful with her words. Dream stopped to think. Did he have romantic feelings for George? He had never had romantic feelings for a guy before, but at the same time, he never had deep romantic feelings for anyone, ever. 

"Maybe." That was all he could manage to say. Niki patted his shoulder. 

"Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell me, I appreciate it. As I said, I won't tell anyone about our conversation. Can I give you advice, though?" She asked, to which Dream nodded. 

"Don't say anything to him or Nick until you know for sure how you feel. I'm not saying to wait until you know how he feels or how you think he feels, just be sure of what you feel before you say anything. Who knows- you could just be feeling excited about how close you guys are. Don't make a potential mistake until you know how you feel, for sure." She said. Her words stung, but she was right. He shouldn't jeopardize their entire friendship over some potential feelings. 

"Thank you, Niki, I'll let you know if anything happens. You're the only person that knows." He said, and she smiled at him. Someone walked in the front door, which brought them out of their conversation. Dream turned the corner and met the very person he was flustered about; George. 

His face wanted to fall considering he was afraid of seeing him again, but it didn't. His face formed into a smile and he hugged his friend. George sunk into Dream's arms, which made him melt. He wanted nothing more than to pick George up and have him wrap his legs around Dream like a koala, but before he could complete his thought, Sapnap tore George off of him and begged for his hug. Dream laughed at Sapnap's need for attention and he hugged his friend extra-tight. He felt so happy having friends he loved being around. He's never had friends besides the other hunters, he'd never had friends that he had to learn about. He, Niki, Wilbur, and Punz had all grown up together; they all four grew up with the same childhood. He knew barely anything about Sapnap and George, which he enjoyed. 

As the day went on, Dream kept catching himself staring at George. He would laugh at the smallest things George did. He smiled at little things George did. He didn't like the control that George had over him, but he couldn't stop it. 

-

George couldn't help noticing how different Dream was acting towards him. Dream and Sapnap were growing closer by the minute, but George still felt the same tension in the air between them that he did in the car that day. He didn't know where the tension came from, but they were on good terms and he didn't want to mess anything up by asking about their unspoken tension. 

Sapnap left them, leaving Dream and George completely alone in the living room. If there wasn't something awkward before, there definitely was now. They both awkwardly pulled out their phones and played on them until Sapnap got back. George kept noticing small indicators that Dream was nervous around him. He would stiffen his seating position or play with his hair or twiddle his thumbs. George had never seen Dream so nervous before, and he didn't know why. 

Dream had to do something to occupy his mind. He had to do something to distract himself from the fact that George was less than twenty feet away from him, alone. He was nervous to be around George with no one else to ease the situation. He found himself noticing what George was wearing. He noticed how everything he was wearing fit him so perfectly. His sweatshirt highlighted his deep collarbones and fit his shoulders perfectly on the seams. His jeans bunched up at his ankles yet they were the perfect length, and he wore a small silver chain around his neck tucked into his sweatshirt collar. His hair was clean, he could almost smell it from where he was sitting. George smelled of sandalwood and pine tree, which lingered on Dream's shirt where he hugged him. 

Dream did all he could to take his mind off of George. He scrolled through girl's Instagram pages, trying to convince himself he was straight. He went on Twitter to try to ease his feelings with humor. But none of his efforts paid off. He couldn't shake George out of his thoughts. He couldn't handle the tension, it was choking him. He got up and walked out of the room, leaving George alone. George gave him a confused glance before he left, but if he looked at George for one more minute, he didn't know what would've happened. 

-

Sapnap pulled Punz and Wilbur into the library and asked them if he could confide in them. They said yes and Sapnap began to speak.

"I need to talk to someone about this, and I don't feel comfortable telling George," He started. 

"Something happened while I was in Caleo- oh sorry, that is what the Warlock's refer to their headquarters as, Tubbo told me," He said. 

"What's going on? You can trust us." Punz said.

"This sounds crazy, but I need to show you this," Sapnap said as he closed the door. 

He lifted his hand and made a book lift off of the shelf in front of them and come to the table, gently setting it beside them. Sapnap expected them to yell at him and kick him out of the place, but instead, they both laughed. 

"That's fuckin' awesome! How did you find out? How long have you known?" Wilbur asked. 

"It happened when I was in Caleo. It was freezing cold and I had these handcuffs on, but they weren't enchanted or anything. I was on the verge of hypothermia and I thought I was going to die until I had this sudden surge of energy and I felt my hands grow really hot. I thought I was in the stage of hypothermia where you start to get really hot and take off your clothes, but it was just my hands. I held them up and I could physically see beams of energy shoot through me and warm me from the inside out. It was insane. I thought I was hallucinating. I held my hand to the cuff of my other and it just broke! I was free, 

"I could've escaped, but I decided to wait because I knew if I had gotten out that it would've created a war between you guys. So I decided to wait until the end of the next day and if you hadn't come then I would escape. Then you guys came, and I didn't have to worry about it. But as I was leaving, Tommy gave me this.... look. It was a look like he knew what had happened to me and he knew I had magic." Sapnap said. 

"And then one of the nights I came for dinner I snuck in here and pulled out a book of magic. I took it home, sorry by the way," He said, to which the guys just shrugged off. 

"And I studied it. I memorized every term in that book. Day and night while I was at work or not I studied that book and the spells. I learned everything that I know within the last week," He continued. 

"Does George or Dream know?" Punz asked. 

"No, I haven't told either of them." He said. 

They stood talking for another twenty minutes before they fled back into the kitchen where the others were. 

"Where have you three been?" Niki asked. 

"Oh we were just in the library talking about Harry Potter, Sap asked if we had the books," Punz said, covering for Sapnap. Niki nodded and turned back to Dream. 

George was still sat in the living room. He was playing on his phone but had a sad look in his eyes. Sapnap noticed but didn't say anything. Dream was awfully close to Niki all day, and awkwardly avoiding George. Sapnap could feel the tension between them all day, and he knew that something was going on between them. Whether they had vocalized it or not, everyone around them knew it was there. 

"So everyone, I called you guys over today to ask if you'd want to go to a party with me tonight! My friend, Andrea, invited me to a party and said I could bring whoever I wanted. Would any of you be interested?" Niki asked. Andrea was another kind of supernatural creature, a faerie. She was led by the Seelie Queen and the Seelie court. They lived in enchanted forests and were all stunningly beautiful, which Dream knew. 

"I'm not a huge party person, so I'll stay here," Wilbur said, Punz agreeing with him. 

"I'd like to go," George said emerging from the living room. Sapnap and Dream whipped their heads around, and Sapnap half-hugged his friend. 

"That's my boy! It only took the supernatural to convince you to go to a party." Sapnap said as George rolled his eyes.

"Sign me up! I always love a good party." Sapnap said. 

Dream was panicking. He knew the Seelie court and the faeries were beautiful people. That was their weapon, they manipulated people with their looks and charm to get whatever they desired. And George was easily manipulated. 

"I'll go." Dream spoke up, resulting in a cheer from Niki. 

"Yay! I'm so happy you three are coming with me! We'll leave around five, is that ok?" Niki asked. They all nodded and George and Sapnap left shortly after to get ready. It was already three pm so they didn't have much time left. 

Dream wasn't a party person, but he couldn't let George walk into a Seelie party without protection. Dream felt drawn to protect George, the same way he felt the day at Caleo. He pulled out his nicest suit and wore jewelry, he wanted to look his best. But not for the reason you might think, 

_He wanted to look good for George._

-

They all four drove in Dream's car. Dream drove with Niki in the passenger's seat and George and Sapnap rode in the back. The never-ending tension was still there, and they had all started to get used to it at that point. The drive wasn't long, it was only thirty minutes or so, but it felt like an eternity for George and Dream. They arrived and Niki started talking before they got out of the car,

"Before we go in, I must warn you. The faeries are very charming people. Faeries can't lie, but they can stretch the truth and manipulate your interpretation of a situation,

"Many of them will offer you a drink or food, but do not, and I mean do NOT accept it. If you eat or drink their food, they will force you to stay with them until you do what they say. And they can be nasty people.

"I'm not trying to scare you, and Andrea is actually a very nice person. So is her sister, Alex. But the others will not be as nice and genuine. I wouldn't have put you guys into a situation I thought you couldn't handle. That's all." She said, making all of them slightly nervous. 

"Let's just all stay together," Sapnap said casually. Everyone nodded and Sapnap and George got out of the car. Niki and Dream stayed back for a minute. She put a hand on his arm, 

"Are you going to be ok tonight?" She asked motioning towards George. Dream looked back at him then looked back to Niki and sighed. 

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just trying to learn to co-exist with him. I'm not doing too well, though. I can barely keep my eyes off of him." He said. Niki looked behind Dream and saw George looking at him with a longing look in his eyes. 

"You're doing great, Dream." She said, giving him a reassuring smile. He smiled back and got out of the car. Niki had an idea and said something before they entered the court,

"Sapnap, could you escort me into the court? I don't want to show up alone," she said, resulting in a wide smile from Sapnap. 

"Of course, m'lady," Sapnap said extending his arm for her to intertwine with. She did and looked at Dream before she strolled off into the court. 

That left Dream and George. Dream knew exactly why she did that. Niki was a very confident and independent person. She didn't need to be escorted into the party, but she knew Dream needed to be. He looked awkwardly at George. 

"Shall we?" Dream said motioning to the door. George smiled and held his arm out as Sapnap did, 

"Of course, m'lady," He said mocking his friend's words. Dream laughed and took George's arm in his, sending chills up his arm. 

They walked in the door to Niki standing with a shorter brunette girl and Sapnap. Sapnap was talking to a taller brunette, but still short. They approached the group and George released his grip from Dream's, making Dream's cheeks flush pink with embarrassment. 

"George, Dream! This is Andrea, my friend I told you about," Niki said motioning to the shorter brunette. George's eyes lit up, and Dream couldn't help but feel jealous. 

"Hello, Andrea," George said waving at her. She was beautiful, she had brown hair with small caramel highlights throughout. She wore a red dress and black heels. Though she wore heels, she was still the shortest of them all. George loved women that were shorter than him, considering he was only 5'9. She had a beautiful smile and natural beauty. 

_She's everything he wants._

"Hi, George! I love your voice, I'm a sucker for accents." She said enthusiastically. She had a rasp in her voice. 

_George loves raspy voices._

"And this," Niki said motioning to the other brunette Sapnap was speaking to.

"Is Alexandra, or Alex, Andrea's sister." She said, and Alex said hello. They all talked as a group for a little while until George started laughing at something Andrea said. It hurt Dream to hear him laugh that way with someone else. 

He hated how selfish he was being. George should be allowed to laugh with his friends, especially a girl, and not set off a ticking time bomb in Dream's heart. But he couldn't help the way he felt. He was miserable. George was having an amazing time. He was introduced to Andrea's friends and talked for hours with them. Sapnap was having a good time with Alex as well. George had taken an interest in Andrea, and Dream hated it. Dream wanted to hate Andrea. He wanted to hate her for the way that she made George laugh. He wanted to hate the way she made Dream feel, but how could he? She was sweet and honest, and she was funny. Dream would've laughed at what she said too if he didn't have a personal vendetta against her. She was beautiful, even Dream noticed that.

Dream slipped away and went to the bathroom. He stood at the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. He hated the way he felt. 

_"Why would he want you?_

_"Why would he ever choose you over her?_

_"She's beautiful and funny, both of which you're not._

_"She's also a girl. George isn't gay, you fucking idiot._

_"Even if he was gay, why would he want you? You're a stuck up, arrogant asshole. You're a good shadowhunter, that's all you have going for you. Stick to what you're good at._

_"You're the reason no one ever has and never will love you._

_"You're the reason your father is dead."_

The voice in his head taunted him, making tears stream down his face. Maybe it was right. Maybe he was the reason his father was dead. Barely anyone knows what actually happened to his father. He couldn't save him. If he was a better hunter he could've saved him. He could've saved his life. 

Dream had tears flowing down his face onto his shirt collar. He was a mess. George was wrong that day in his room. He wasn't the mess, Dream was. 

There was a knock on the door. Dream wiped his face and opened the door. It was a random couple, no doubt trying to find privacy to hook up. Dream left and rushed past the group outside to the car. He unlocked the car and got in the driver's seat. He held back tears as he pulled his phone out to text Niki. 

_"Sorry, had to get out of there. Tell Andrea and Alex thank you for a wonderful time and I'll be back to get you guys later. Text me when you want to be picked up. I'm so sorry."_

He started the car and shuffled his playlist. 'Arms Tonite' by Mother Mother started playing. He left the courtyard and drove. He drove until nothing hurt anymore. But it didn't stop. Everything hurt. Tears were still flowing down his face. He hated feeling this way. Niki was the only one he could talk to about it. He had a small sliver of hope that George felt the same when he allowed Dream to escort him to the party, but he pulled away as soon as he met Andrea. How could he think George would want him? 

But at the same time, he made flirtatious jokes with him. They shared a special bond, and they both knew it. Dream needed to protect him, but he didn't want it. He tried, he's the whole reason Dream went to the party in the first place. But George didn't care. Dream shouldn't have even come to the party at all, he knew George wasn't into him. His phone vibrated, 

_"Is this about George? I thought you guys were fine?"_

Dream cried even harder. 

_"He is. I'm not. I'm a fucking mess over him, Niki. He's ruining me."_

Dream drove back to the institute.

_"Message Punz when you guys want to come home, I can't see him again. I'm so sorry for ruining your party, Niki."_

He messaged Punz asking to pick them up later because he was sick, to which Punz said he would. Dream got home and ran to his room, not even talking to Punz or Wilbur. He couldn't let them see him like this. Dream rarely showed emotion to anyone. He acted like a stone wall that couldn't be broken. Which he was normally, but George had cracked his walls from the inside out, and he was slowly crumbling. 

He got in the shower, he needed to distract himself. He shuffled his playlist. 'Happiness' by Taylor Swift played, filling the bathroom with melodic tones. 

_"There'll be happiness after you  
But there was happiness because of you"_

The lyrics played loudly, making him pull his knees to his chest on the floor of the shower. The hot droplets of water scorched his back, but he didn't care. He was numb. He was pathetic. 

_"Haunted by the look in my eyes  
That would've loved you for a lifetime"_

The tears stopped. There were none left to cry. His face stiffened from the dried tears. He got out of the shower and locked his bedroom door. He lied down in his bed. He was exhausted. He was empty of tears. He needed to do something to distract himself. 

Dream had always loved art. Whether it was musical, painting, drawing, poetry, any of the sort. He could always lose himself in writing. He had barely anything in his room, but he did have an easel and paint. He got up from a never-ending cycle of thoughts in his mind. He got up and sat at the easel, contemplating what to draw. He pulled out his artist's pencil and sketched something onto his notepad. His hand effortlessly glided across the paper, creating a beautiful image of a god-like being. He replicated the sketch onto his canvas and began painting. He lost himself in the painting, despite hearing the group from the party show back up to the institute. 

He heard vague voices asking the others where he went, but he didn't care. He couldn't be bothered to care about anything except for his art, which consumed him. He was uninterrupted until he heard a faint knock at the door, bringing his attention off of his work. 

"Hello?" He asked quietly, barely having enough energy to speak. 

"Dream?" George said softly, sounding concerned. Dream stood up, surprised to hear his voice. He didn't respond. He didn't know what to say. 

"Dream what happened? Why did you leave?" George asked. He leaned his forehead on the door and sighed. Dream walked to the door which was still locked. 

"Dream," George said barely audible. 

"Please Dream, we're worried about you," He said pausing. 

_"I'm worried about you,"_

Though that was the perfect thing he could've said, Dream still broke inside. 

"I'm fine. I got nauseous." That was all Dream could say. 

He hated lying to him, but he couldn't tell him the truth. 

"Dream, you're lying to me," George said. 

"Let me in, please. I want to see you," George said jiggling the doorknob. 

How badly Dream wanted to open the door and let George in, how badly he wanted to hug him tightly and never let go. How badly he wanted to tell George everything. How badly he hated lying to him. He could feel the emotional wall between them start to form. 

"I don't feel well, George. I don't want to make you sick," Dream said, trying to sound as genuine as possible. 

"I don't care, let me in," George said almost immediately.

"George," Dream said softly, leaning his back against the door.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be." Dream said. 

George knew something was wrong with Dream. He wasn't sick, he was fine before they left and he was fine at the party. Something happened to Dream after he had left with Andrea. He was selfish. He left with a girl when his friend needed him. He should've known. He wanted to make it better. 

"Dream, let me fix what I've done wrong," George said, making the hair on Dream's neck stiffen. 

_Did he know? How could he know? He was so careful, there was no way he knew. He meant something else._

"You didn't do anything wrong, I created this mess and I'll clean it up. Goodnight, George." Dream said before resuming his music he was playing whilst he painted. 

George tried the doorknob one last time before he left. He hated seeing Dream this way. It had been tense between them for too long. He needed to talk to Dream. He wanted it to go back to how it was at the bookshop. 

He went home that night with Dream on his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about what could be wrong with him. Why hadn't he told him what was wrong? Why didn't he trust him enough to tell him what was wrong? 

He missed his friend. He was going to fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! I'm not too happy with my writing quality in this one either but this was an important one! I tried to deepen Dream's feelings and convey them well, lemme know how I did! I should be publishing one chapter a day until it's finished!


	5. hurt

"Wilbur, I still don't want you to leave," Niki said as she followed the tall brunette through the halls of the institute. He was leaving to visit Tubbo, who invited him to stay with them for the holiday season. 

"Niki,

"I will be fine. I've been speaking to them a lot recently, they're genuinely inviting me to get the boys back together. Techno and Philza will be there too." He said grabbing Niki's shoulders. 

"I'm scared, Will. We haven't exactly got the best record with them," She said, sinking into Wilbur's touch. 

"Niki, I'm twenty-four years old. I'll have my blade and my stele, I'm not going anywhere, alright?" He said pulling her into a hug. She nodded into his chest as she sighed. 

She and Wilbur always had an underlying love for each other, more than friendship. They were always stuck at the wrong time to pursue a relationship. They were the perfect example of a 'right person, wrong time' situation. They had an unspoken rule to not date other people, though, and they both didn't have any intention to date any others. 

Wilbur left for Caleo, leaving Niki alone. Punz had left for a few days' long trip and Dream hadn't left his room in over two weeks. Punz was scheduled to be back later in the evening, but until then, Niki was alone. She had cleaned the place at least three times. She decided to try and talk to Dream. 

Nobody had spoken to him since the party almost three weeks ago, which was also the last time Sapnap and George had spoken to him. The two had visited a lot and had formed their friendships with the others, but nobody had spoken to Dream. He wasn't answering his phone and he hadn't left his room. Niki left food outside of his door, but he only accepted dinner in the evening. She treated him like a pet and she hated it, but she needed to or else he wouldn't eat. 

"Dream?" Niki said through his bedroom door. 

There was no response. 

"Dream, nobody is here. Punz is with his family and Wilbur left for Caleo this morning," She said. She heard a shift in his room and soft breathing behind the door. 

"Why is Wilbur going to Caleo?" Dream finally responded. Niki smiled, she hadn't heard his voice in so long. 

"Dream, please come out. It's just me,

"I also have the master key in my hand. It's been too long. You come out or I come in." She hated being mean, but she needed to. He couldn't be sane in there after this long.

She heard the door unlock. She opened the door expecting to see a filthy room and piled-up dirty dishes. But instead, the room was spotless. It was tidy and smelled of flowers and fresh air. The only thing that wasn't tidied was his bed, but he had been lying down for the past three weeks so it was acceptable. She noticed at least ten beautiful paintings leaned against each other in the corner of his room. 

He was cleaned up as well. He was wearing black sweatpants and a navy crewneck sweatshirt. His face was shaven and he smelled of mahogany. He looked.... normal? 

"Tommy and Tubbo invited him to stay for the holidays, Techno and Philza are coming as well." She answered his question. 

He sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. 

"I'm happy to see you. Have you spoken to George?" Niki asked. 

"No, I haven't opened my messages since that night." He lied. 

"Dream, what's going on? Why is this affecting you so much? I've known you since I was born and I've never seen you like this." She asked as she sat on the floor. 

"I don't know. He didn't even do anything wrong. All he did was interact with a pretty girl at a party and my emotions combusted. I couldn't handle myself." He confessed. 

"Can I make you breakfast? Please?" She pleaded. He hesitated but agreed and followed her to the kitchen. 

He re-hashed all of his feelings he had pushed down for the past three weeks as he ate his pancakes, savoring every bit of the hot food he had missed so much. He loved Niki. They were purely platonic but they had such a deep-rooted friendship that he was thankful for every day. 

Dream enjoyed leaving his room for a little while, he missed how the institute smelled of Niki's food and clean floors. Niki also loved burning candles throughout the day. Dream needed Niki, and he was glad he had her. 

-

George hadn't been able to get Dream out of his head. He missed him more and more every day. He texted him every single day since the last time he saw him, but he never got a response. He started writing Dream updates on his days. He didn't send them, but he still wrote them. He kept a note on his phone that he would write a small update every day. 

He and Sapnap moved in together, they already spent every day together considering they worked with each other. They talked about Dream every day. Sapnap had advised George to give up on him. He said it was clear Dream needed to handle this himself and that George needed to focus his attention on something else. Perhaps, Andrea, Sapnap suggested. George couldn't be bothered to care about her. He didn't want to care about her. He only cared about Dream. And no matter how much others told him to forget about Dream, he couldn't. 

Sapnap had been spending copious amounts of time with Wilbur and Punz, more than he used to. George knew Sapnap was hiding something from him. It hurt him, it hurt him to know there was something Sapnap didn't trust George enough with to tell him. He had had enough. It had been almost two months since George realized he was hiding something from him. 

"Sapnap, can we talk, please?" George asked Sapnap over dinner. 

"Of course, Gogy, what's up?" He asked putting his phone down. 

"What is wrong with me? Dream hasn't spoken to me in almost three weeks because of something I did and it keeps me up at night. And now you have something that you don't trust me enough to tell me. What did I do wrong?" George asked with his head down. 

Sapnap's heart fell into his stomach, he didn't think about how George must have felt during all of this. George had just discovered his new life too, and Sapnap hadn't been there for him. He had only been thinking of himself and his problems, he hadn't considered how George felt. 

"George,

"I'm so sorry. There's nothing wrong with you. I didn't even think about how you must've felt." Sapnap said softly. He had been so selfish that he didn't consider how George felt. He felt like such a terrible friend. 

"George, I'm like Tommy and Tubbo,

"I have magic." He said with a soft tone. 

George looked up to meet his gaze, confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

Sapnap had improved his skills a lot since he told Punz and Wilbur, and they had been helping him. They were fetching him books about magic and Wilbur had been contacting sorcerers he knew asking for help. That's why he had been talking to them so often, and why he had been spending so much time at the institute; researching. 

Sapnap told George how it all happened. How he saved his life with his magic and how he could've escaped but didn't because he knew they'd pull through for him. George was so proud of Sapnap but still hurt that he didn't tell him sooner. 

George told Sapnap about the connection he and Dream had, and how he knew that he had something to do with the way Dream was acting. He told him about the times they subtly flirted with each other or how he would catch Dream staring at him and would turn away when he noticed. He told him about the safety he felt when he hugged Dream, and how it almost felt supernatural. He felt so safe with Dream, and he missed him. 

Sapnap knew there was something more than friendship between Dream and George, even if George didn't know it. He knew by the way he talked about Dream, he spoke about him like nothing else in the world mattered. And he knew by the way Dream looked at him, George calmed him in no other way he'd ever seen. George was Dream's safe haven. Even though he'd only known Dream for a short time, he saw him melt in front of George like none other. But he couldn't tell George that. He couldn't jeopardize their friendship by telling him this before letting him figure it out by himself. 

The two hugged it out and laughed for the rest of the night before bed. Sapnap had shown George the spells he knew and showed him failed attempts of the ones he was learning. He told George about how close he and Alexa, from work, were getting and how he's starting to like her. The two talked like they hadn't spoken in years. As it turns out, they were both hiding things from each other. They slept peacefully for the first time in weeks, though Dream was still occupying George's mind.

-

Punz and Niki came over to George and Sapnap's apartment and hung out the next morning. They invited Dream, of course, but he didn't feel up for it. In the other's eyes, that meant he was sick. In Niki's, and even George's eyes, that meant he didn't want to. He started leaving his room more often and eating dinner with them again, though he didn't ever talk about how he was feeling around Punz. It was always awkward small talk or Niki and Punz talking about their lives as Dream listened. As time passed, everyone started to worry about Dream. Even Wilbur reached out to him a couple of times asking how he was doing, but as always, no response. 

George still messaged him every day in hopes of a response, but he never got one. Sapnap messaged him now and then but still received no response. 

The four hung out at George's and Sapnaps almost every day. Dream always declined the offer to the point where they didn't even extend an invitation after the fifth decline. They all missed their friend dearly but knew that he would come around eventually. 

Sapnap and George received two weeks of paid vacation during Christmas time, which they used to hang out with their friends, Sapnap invited Alexa along a couple of times as well. Sapnap and Punz grew closer, they were almost as close as Sapnap and George were, but nothing could top their bond. Niki started expressing concern for Dream and told everyone that they talk every night. She told them how she noticed he's been getting thinner in the face, and probably all over as well but couldn't see it under his baggy clothes. He stopped eating as much and as often, and he doesn't talk with the same excitement he used to. It was two weeks before Christmas and George hadn't seen Dream since a week after Halloween. 

George didn't talk after Niki told everyone how Dream was doing. He sat there on the verge of tears until he went to his room. He missed him, and he couldn't help but feel that this was all his fault. All of Dream's pain was his fault. The reason he fled from the party and hasn't talked to anyone since was his fault. 

George found himself dwelling on how he felt when he was with Dream. He felt pure happiness. He loved Dream. He missed his best friend. He missed the way he wheezed when he laughed. He missed the way that Dream always knew exactly how to calm him down. He missed their hugs. He missed the way his body fit so perfectly into Dream's when they hugged. He missed the way he could hear Dream's heartbeat when he hugged him, and how it always rose at George's touch. He missed the way that no matter the situation, no matter how sad or mad George was, he always made him laugh. He always made George feel better. He missed their rendezvous in the bookshop. He missed the way Dream held his arm as he marked him with runes, the pain being subsided by Dream's gentle touch that sent chills down his spine. He missed the way he felt when Dream told him to take off the faux shirt collar Sapnap made him wear

_"Then take it off"_

The thought of those very words gave George the chills. His heart ached and he missed Dream. He missed _his_ Dream. 

-

The next day, Niki and Punz came over again and they ate sushi while they watched 'The Hunger Games'. George longed for Dream, and it was only a matter of time until he broke into Dream's room and forced him to speak to him. They all sat on the couch after the movie was done and chatted,

"Question for you shadowhunters," Sapnap started,

"Do you guys celebrate Christmas?" He asked. 

"No, we never really celebrated any holidays when our parents lived with us at the institute. And then by the time they moved out to work at other institutes across the country, we didn't have the money or the knowledge to celebrate it ourselves. But we know what it is and we've actually considered it a couple of times now, we just never got around to it." Punz responded. 

"Well then it's settled," George said. 

"We're celebrating. We'll go to the institute on Christmas Eve and have dinner with you guys then Sapnap and I can sleep in guest bedrooms and we'll open presents in the morning. All of us hopefully..." George trailed off, implying he hoped Dream would join. 

"I'm so down! Quick question, what do you guys want for Christmas? How about we all get one small gift for each other? And all of us need to make lists!" Niki said enthusiastically. They all continued to talk about it and George offered to help Niki decorate the living room. They would leave the next day for a tree and decorations, as well as wrapping supplies and gifts. Punz and Sapnap would leave the next day to buy gifts as well, then George and Sapnap and Niki and Punz would meet with each other halfway throughout the day and swap people so they could shop for the other person. 

Sapnap had never seen Punz so excited for anything. He wasn't a very enthusiastic guy, he just cruised by life. He and Sapnap were great for each other because Sapnap knew how to cheer Punz up and Punz knew how to calm Sapnap down. They started together at the beginning of the day, they knew what to get for the others but neither had any idea what to get for each other. Sapnap bought Niki a small necklace that he got a message engraved on. He bought George the newest Fantastic Beasts book that had just come out that day and made sure Niki didn't let him buy it for himself. Sapnap also got Dream a gift, even though he might not be able to watch him open it. He bought Dream a Minecraft account and wrote him a note letting him know how much he missed him and promised to teach him how to play once he was feeling better. 

Punz bought Niki a pair of earrings and a new flat pan for cooking, considering he had broken hers the day before while he was messing around in the kitchen. He bought George a pair of creeper sweatpants and a $20 gift card to Target. He had also gotten Dream a gift. It was a page of sheet music Dream's dad had given to Punz when he was a kid. He also bought him a sketchbook and pencils, he knew how much Dream loved art. 

-

Niki and George had spent way too much money on decorations and a tree, but they justified it by saying it would last them for years. Niki also had a debit card that her parents deposited money into once a month, and had been for the last twenty years of her life. She had never used it until now. She bought a small leather bracelet and his favorite cologne for Sapnap. She bought Punz his favorite flavors of Peace Tea, since she wasn't legally allowed to buy him his favorite Twisted Tea, and a small bee plush toy. She had bought Dream a new set of paints, she had noticed he was running low the last time she went into his room, and a new set of blank canvases. 

George had bought Sapnap a chessboard and a timer. They had talked about wanting to play with each other a couple of times recently and thought it would benefit both of them. And he bought Punz a $40 gift card and a card. He and Punz never really spoke much so he had no idea what to get him. And finally, Dream's gift. George wanted to get Dream everything he ever wanted for Christmas but settled on a sage crewneck sweatshirt. Dream loved all things green and he decided to get him something he would use. But that wasn't all, he also wrote him a card. A card that confessed everything to him. Confessed how he loved him and he would do anything to take back what went wrong. He would write about how safe he felt with him and how he would do anything to feel his heartbeat against his cheek again. Even if he couldn't say it out loud, he would write it and let destiny run its course. 

Later in the day when they switched partners, George bought his gift for Niki. He and Niki had gotten close recently, so he wanted to get her something special that she would enjoy. He bought a Christmas card and wrote inside what her gift would be, considering he couldn't buy it immediately. 

The others bought their gifts and they all met back at the institute to decorate and eat dinner They were all exhausted from shopping so they decided to order food out. Everyone silently wished Dream would come out of his room and join them for dinner. They all wished he would go back to his happy, witty self and join them for pizza and Christmas music. 

"Dream," Niki said surprised at the appearance of her friend. Everybody whipped their heads in disbelief. 

Niki was right, he was going thin in the face. His face had been drained of color and his cheeks caved in. His wrists were smaller and his clothes fit baggier. George nearly cried at the sight. 

"Why are you all here? What is all of this?" He asked casually, his voice low and soft. 

"George and Sapnap suggested we celebrated Christmas this year, doesn't that sound fun?" Niki asked. Everyone's attention was on Dream, but his was on George. He and George just stared at each other. It had been almost a month since they'd seen each other. George had messaged him every day since he went MIA and he hadn't responded, _not even once._

"Yeah, it sounds great." Dream said, his voice deep from not speaking. He broke his gaze on George and Sapnap tried to talk to him, but he didn't respond. 

"Dream, h-

"How are you? Why haven't I seen you in a month?" George asked making the room go dead silent. He had hoped to not have this conversation in front of everyone, but this might be the only time he would get to speak to him at all. Dream looked to George and stared. 

"I've been under the weather," He responded, avoiding the question. 

"Bull-fucking-shit," Sapnap said angrily. Everyone focused their attention on Sapnap. 

"Dream, what the hell happened? You left the Seelie court out of nowhere and decided to not speak to us after that?" Sapnap continued to raise his voice, nearly yelling. 

"Dream, why haven't you responded to any of our messages? I know you're on your phone, you like things on Twitter and I see them on my feed. We've all been worried sick about you," George added. 

"We believed your bullshit at first but this has been going on for a MONTH now and you refuse to talk to anyone," Sapnap said. 

"Dream, we know you're not doing well. But, we all love you and we just want you to be happy. Please tell us what we can do to fix this." George said as Punz calmed Sapnap down. 

Dream stood there completely silent until George's final statement. 

"You know what you can do to fix this? You want to know what you can do to make me feel better and to make this all go away?" Dream finally said. 

"Yes, please Dream." George pleaded. 

"You can fucking leave." Dream said coldly. George's breath hitched at his harsh words. 

"You can leave my fucking home and never come back. You have infiltrated my life and managed to weasel your way into every aspect of my life and ruined it,

"You've fucking broken me. You want to know why I don't eat and why I don't leave my room? You want to know?

"You. Fucking. Broke me. I was fine before you two came along. Then you," He said motioning to Sapnap. 

"You made me think that I was special. You made me believe I was a great warrior that even the Warlock were afraid of." He spat at Sapnap. 

"And you?" He said looking at George. 

"You. 

"You fucking tore me apart. You made me think you cared about me. You lied, and you keep fucking lying. I read your messages, you know that? I read every fucking message you send me. It used to be the favorite part of my day, the first three weeks. Then, it became pure lies. You think I don't know that you've been all over Andrea? You think I didn't notice the way you immediately left me for her at that party? You didn't even know you were breaking me, but you were. And I didn't respond or come out of my room because I didn't you to see how fucking disgusting I am. 

"I'm a fucking mess. That day in your room when you apologized for being a mess? You had it all wrong, I was the mess. I was your instrument and you played me." He yelled at George.

"Dream stop it," Niki demanded. 

"Why should I? Huh? Why should I, Niki? Why should I believe anything he says? 

"You know what? I wish I never fucking met either of you." He yelled. 

"Dream, you don't mean that," Sapnap said standing up to walk to George who was frozen, frozen in shock. 

"I do. I do mean it." He said. He started to walk away but turned back and looked at George one last time. 

_"I wish I never fucking laughed at you dropping that stupid book."_

He walked to his room, leaving everyone speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyooo! thank you for reading! this chapter was hard to write but it needed to be done to continue the storyline :/ pls leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed it!


	6. exclusion

Dream's hands shook as he twisted the cap off of his acrylic paint. He ran to the bathroom and took the clean paintbrushes from the towel near the sink. He could barely breathe. 

_Why the fuck did I say that? What the hell is wrong with me?_

He began to paint the canvas in hopes that his anxiety would simmer down. He had just yelled at his friends and the boy he loved, over what? What had made him so angry that he had to scream at the people that were just looking out for him? Why had he done something so stupid? He wanted nothing more than to run back out to the kitchen and hug George until his arms gave out. He wanted to hug Sapnap and thank him for taking care of George while he couldn't. He wanted to thank Niki for all of the talks and discussions they had and thank her for the times he made him feel safe and heard. He wanted to laugh with Punz about nonsense and watch football. He missed his friends, he missed his sanity. He missed when every portion of his mind wasn't taken up by George and how much he loved and missed him. And he had the chance. He had the chance twenty minutes ago when every single one of them was here. They were all four less than three hundred feet away from him, he had unlocked his door to find out what the music was, and he had the chance to tell George how much he meant to him, but he didn't. Instead, he yelled at them. He hurt them all with words that meant nothing but hurt so much. 

His vision went blurry and he collapsed, and his final thought before he went unconscious was of George and how much he regretted everything he just said. 

-

George hadn't been the same since three days ago when the man he loved told him he regretted ever meeting him. It hurt, but he decided instead of decaying in his room, he would go to his mother. He went to his mother and told her nothing of what happened the night before, but asked for help in broadening his supernatural powers. She gave him a book full of runes and what they meant. He spent the next day and a half studying the runes like he was studying for a quiz. It was the only thing that distracted him from the tear in his heart that Dream had caused. 

He wanted to hate him. He wanted to burn the Christmas present he bought for him and never look back. He wanted to curse his name and burn the physical memories they shared. He wanted to slap him across the face and spit the same nasty words towards him that he had so viciously torn George apart with. 

But he couldn't. 

He couldn't bring himself to do any of it. He couldn't bring himself to do the same that Dream did to him because deep, deep down, he knew Dream didn't mean what he said. He didn't regret meeting him and Sapnap and he sure as hell didn't regret the memories they shared. Though George was still hurt and healing from the damage Dream had caused, Sapnap knew it in his heart too. Sapnap and George were on the same page with the whole Dream incident. They both wanted to hate him but couldn't, and they had more concern for his mental health rather than the words he said to them, no matter how much they had been hurt by them. 

George and Sapnap had been helping each other with their supernatural abilities, as well as still visiting Punz and Niki. The four were as inseparable as ever, considering they had all been shut out from Dream, including Niki. She hated it, she was the only one Dream had trusted and he had shut her out too. They knew they needed to get through to him. 

-

Niki woke seven days before Christmas to the sound of a seraph blade cutting through pixelated flesh. She was usually the first to wake, so she rushed to the training quarters and was met by... Dream?

"Dream?" She asked, surprised by what she was seeing. 

He looked back to her panting and sweaty. He was thinner than normal and weaker, but she still smiled at the sight of her friend out of his room. 

"Hey, buddy," Dream said smiling at his friend. Niki immediately ran to him and hugged him, no matter how sweaty and gross he was. He hugged her back, he needed her. She was short compared to him, but he still loved the way she loved him. 

"Are you ok? How are you feeling?" She asked pulling away from the hug. 

"I'm not, but I'm trying to get better," he started with pain in his eyes. 

"Niki, 

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you. I'm so sorry for what I said the other night, I didn't mean any of it. I regret everything I said." He said, making Niki soften her smile. 

"Dream, we all know you didn't mean any of it,

_"Even George."_

The thought of George ever forgiving what he had said to him made Dream want to cry. He missed him so, so much. 

"Niki, there's no way he and Sapnap would ever forgive me. I fucked up bad. I lost them." He trailed off. 

"No, Dream, you didn't. They both forgive you. I've spoken to them every. single. day since you broke down. They do, and they miss you. Sure, they are hurt by what you said but they know that you didn't mean any of it. They love you, we all do. We just want you to get better. " Niki said, making Dream feel better. 

He sighed, not knowing what to do. He knew what Niki said was right but he didn't know if he could bring himself to face them after what he said. At least not now. 

"Thank you, Niki. 

"I'm going to finish training and then we can talk. There's a lot I want to tell you, but I need to train. I'm so weak." He said facing the computer to start the pixelated warriors. She nodded and left, leaving him alone. 

-

"SAPNAP STOP IT" George yelled at Sapnap as he hurt him in Minecraft. They hadn't played together in months, they'd been too caught up in all of the shadowhunter drama to focus on what they loved. 

Sapnap giggled and hit George one last time before his character fell to the ground and George pounded his desk. 

"I hate you! What the hell, Sapnap? I had like twenty-five levels!" George yelled, his accent accentuating some of the words. 

"Oh, Gogy, just admit it that I'm better than you at Minecraft then I'll give you your things back." Sapnap taunted George as he ran to where his character had died. 

"Okay, fine. You're better than me now give me my shit," George demanded. 

"Woah George why the naughty language?" Sapnap said laughing, which made George even angrier than he was before. 

"Sapnap please give me my things." He said in a serious tone, to which Sapnap threw his things back at him and his character danced. George ran away from him and continued to build his house. 

_Punz joined the game._

_Nihachu joined the game._

"Oh hey let's add them to the call!" Sapnap said after seeing his friends joined their server. The two had gotten Niki and Punz into Minecraft since they both had a lot of spare time, and they all four made a server together. 

Sapnap added the two into the call and they answered quickly. 

"Hello, boys!" Niki said enthusiastically. Her enthusiasm made George smile, he loved how Niki could always manage to cheer him up. 

"Hello, Nihachu," George said into the microphone. 

The four of them played on the server for an hour before Niki sent them a message. 

_"guys, dream came out of his room this morning."_

George's breath stopped as he read the message. Before he could answer, the call had fallen silent and Sapnap responded. 

_"What did he do?"_

_"he was training. I said hello and he said he misses all of you and didn't mean what he said the other night."_

_"he's very thin."_

Reading Niki's last message made George's heart break. He knew he hadn't been eating as much from what Niki had told them, but he didn't know it had taken a toll on him this fast. 

_"Does he want to see us?"_

George had typed his message carefully. 

_"yes."_

_"he said he loves and misses all of you but needs time. he hated himself for the way he spoke to all of us and he needs to make peace with himself before he sees us."_

George nearly rolled his eyes at the message. He just wanted to see him. He just wanted to hug him again. 

_"Well an apology or a response to our texts could help with that one"_

Punz had finally responded, making everyone in the call laugh. After Punz's response, they all went back to playing until they got off for the night. 

-

Dream dried his body after he got out of the shower. He had his first good day in a while. 

He left the bathroom and stared at his painting. The painting he created as a result of his pain. It was his best work, in his opinion. His other works were a result of pain as well, but this one brought him back to the pain he had endured just by looking at it. He wrote it as a response to George, to the things he had said. He was angry, angry at himself. He was hurt, hurt that George hadn't seen his pain before it had gotten to this point. 

He wanted to see him- he needed to see him. 

-

George and Sapnap were sat at their kitchen table discussing their supernatural powers. Sapnap had learned many spells and had started using them around the house. He could clean a mess in a matter of seconds, he could cook a meal within minutes, and he could play music with the swish of a hand. 

George had learned about his new abilities as well. He had spoken to his mother nearly every day and they discussed his abilities. 

He needed to train, he needed to learn how to fight. There had been situations that he could've gotten himself out of but didn't because he couldn't fight. He needed the Institute. He needed their weapons and training equipment. But he couldn't see Dream. Now that Niki had told them about him leaving his room more often, he couldn't risk seeing him again. Not after what he said to him. 

-

Dream knocked on Niki's bedroom door, he desperately needed to talk to her. She opened the door, surprised to see Dream coming to her. She invited him in as she sat back down at her computer chair. 

"Hey guys I'm going to get off, but it was fun playing! Thank you." She said into her headset. She typed a few letters on her keyboard and turned to face Dream, who was sat on her bed. 

"What's that?" Dream asked motioning to her computer. 

"Oh, I've started playing a game with Sapnap, George, Punz, and a few of their friends," Niki said avoiding eye contact with Dream. 

He sighed, 

_Why did I shut down? Why did I let what happened control me so much? My friends were all friends whether I was a part of the picture or not. I've wasted so much time._

"Oh, nice. What game is it?" He asked already knowing the answer. 

_Minecraft. The game George and Sapnap play. George loves that game._

"It's called Minecraft. Geo-" She started but stopped. 

"You can say his name, Niki. There's nothing wrong with him. I know you guys are friends." Dream replied making Niki sigh. 

"Dream, I'm sorry for treating you like this. I feel like I'm treating you like a baby, I'm sorry. It's not intentional," She started. 

"I just don't know where you stand with him. I know where he stands with you but the last time you saw him you..." She trailed off, making Dream reminisce on his blow-up towards his friends. 

"I understand, I would do the same if you were in this situation," He said, lying down on his back and putting his hands over his face. 

"Niki, I don't know what happened, to be honest. It just, I don't know, hurt me? To see you all hanging out together and you all sounded like you were having so much fun and you were all laughing and playing Christmas music and eating shitty fast food it just," He said rambling. 

"And I know I did this to myself, I don't want you to feel bad about any of it," He continued. 

"I just wanted to come and hang out with all of you. For a minute there I had completely forgotten it had been a month since I had seen them. I forgot that I had been completely avoiding all of them, especially George,

"And then when I came out and everyone saw me I felt like a sad little kid that lost his mommy at Disneyland. I felt helpless. You were all being such good friends and I'm eternally grateful for all of you I just,

"I freaked out. All of the questions had reminded me of how fucked up I had made myself. I mean, look at me, I'm bone-thin and I'm paler than a ghost. I did this to myself. I got insecure. And instead of just letting you all care about me I lashed out. I'm so sorry." He finished. 

Niki smiled softly. 

"Dream, we know." She said surprising him. 

"We all knew you didn't mean what you said which is why none of us took it to heart." She said. 

"Bu- but George," He started. 

_"Especially George knew."_

The words made him shiver.

"I need to talk to him. 

"This all began because I was jealous of him and Andrea." Dream said.

"I think I need to tell him how I feel," George had said to Niki earlier that day. 

The repeat of the words had made her eyes widen. They had said the exact same thing, about each other. 

"Niki?" Dream said bringing Niki back to the present. 

"What?" She asked, collecting her thoughts. 

"I said I think I need to tell George how I feel." Dream repeated. 

"Oh, yes! Do that, sorry, I lost my train of thought. But yes, do that. You need to tell him." She said. She could hear the shakiness in Dream's voice and the desperation rising. 

"Now." She said, making Dream furrow his brows. 

"What?" He asked. 

"Go now. Go tell him how you feel. He was just on the server, he's home." She said, smiling. Dream nervously smiled and stood up from her bed. 

"Do you think he feels the same? I'm going to make a fool of myself." He said. 

"Just go, I know how he feels. I wouldn't lead you into a death trap." She said. He smiled and left her room. 

-

His foot pressed on the gas pedal way harder than it should have. 

_I need to see him. He needs to know._

He pressed on the gas pedal even harder until he arrived at his destination. He locked his car as he got out, he was so nervous. But he couldn't wait any longer. He knocked on the door and waited eagerly for a response. He heard footsteps and the door opened. 

"George?" Niki said. 

"Can I speak to Dream?" George asked. 

"He-he's not here." She said stuttering on her words.

"What? What do you mean he's not here?" George asked confused. 

"He's gone! He went to look for you!" She said, making George's heart skip a beat. 

"Why is he looking for me?" He asked. 

"He said he needed to talk to you, I'm not sure what about." She lied. 

"Couldn't he have called me?" George asked. He was scared of what Dream needed to speak to him so urgently about. 

"He wanted to do it now, he didn't want to hesitate.

"But you can wait here until he gets back. I'll call him right now." Niki said as she invited George in. 

-

He waited for the front door to open. He was so anxious. He hadn't seen him since the incident. 

The door opened and his heart dropped. 

"Dream?" Sapnap asked with wide eyes. 

"Sapnap," Dream said smiling at the sight of his friend.

"What are you doing here?" He asked nervously. 

Dream hated how nervous he made him, making your friends scared of you isn't a good thing. 

"I needed to speak to you and George." He said, not wanting to admit he had forgotten about apologizing to Sapnap.

"Dream?" Punz said from the couch. 

"Hey, Punz." Dream said. 

"Wait, you need to talk to us? What about?" He was asking. George wasn't there, or he wasn't talking. 

"I need to apologize to you guys, you too Punz. I freaked out at you guys for no reason. I know you guys were just trying to be good friends and I flipped out and I just-" Dream said before he was cut off. 

"Save it, bro. I love you and I know you're going through things. You don't need to apologize." Sapnap said pulling Dream into a hug. Dream felt happy, he loved Sapnap. They held a special bond that he hadn't ever shared with anyone before. 

"Where's George. I really need to talk to him." He started. 

"Yeah, that's the thing, George left to talk to you. He's at the institute." Sapnap said. 

"What? So he went to talk to me and I left to talk to him?" Dream asked confused. 

"Yeah, you can meet him there though. He seriously just left like five minutes before you got here." Sapnap said. 

"I'm coming back to catch up soon, I need to talk to him." Dream said. 

"Go get your man," Sapnap said winking at Dream. Punz laughed from the living room and Sapnap closed the door on Dream, who was bright red. 

-

George wandered around the institute. His heart was in his stomach. He was scared of what Dream might say when they saw each other. 

He found himself wandering into Dream's room. He hadn't seen it since the day they were both in here after Dream had woken up. The memory made George smile. Dream looked so precious while he was still half-asleep. Even though his hair was an absolute mess, he still looked beautiful. 

He looked around the room, it was different. Paintings were lining the walls and empty paint tubes filled his trashcan. The paintings were all amazing, he had no idea Dream was such a talented artist. He never told him. They were all beautiful, but one, in particular, caught his eye. 

It looked newer than the others. It was stunning, but there was an underlying feeling in the painting. 

_Pain._

Strokes of the brush held memory, a memory Dream had been feeling when he painted the picture. 

The painting was captivating. George couldn't stop inspecting every little detail of the canvas. He grazed his finger over the dried clumps of paint, trying to feel what Dream felt. 

"George?" 

He spun his head around and was met with a tall man in a green sweatshirt looking back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was painful to write, and it's a very short filler chapter, which makes me feel worse lol. I hope you enjoyed the build-up for what is to happen next chapter!


	7. you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slight nsfw warning! nothing crazy happens, but just thought I'd warn you all beforehand! this one's also long, so grab some popcorn and enjoy :D

"Dream," George said. 

They both stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity. 

"George, I'm so sorry," Dream started. 

"I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it. I was so overwhelmed with everything going on that I didn't consider how any of you felt and I just freaked out and then I started spiraling and so I stormed out-" Dream rambled but was cut off. 

He felt George cup his face and plant a kiss on his lips. His stomach did flips as he took in the feeling he had waited so long for. 

George pulled away before Dream could respond. It had stopped too soon. 

Dream pulled George back in and kissed him again, feeling chills up his spine. He was so gentle with him, he had waited so long for this. He couldn't get enough. He had missed George, more than he knew. They both stopped to catch their breath. 

"George," Dream said. 

"No, don't say anything," George said as he leaned his forehead against Dream's. 

"But I need to tell you why I did this, why I caused all of this." He said closing his eyes. 

George was so much shorter than him. Their bodies fit so perfectly together. 

"I know why you did it. I would've done the same. Maybe less Jurassic, but you're dramatic." George said smiling. 

Dream laughed and sat down on the end of his bed. 

"You don't even know how long I've waited for that," Dream said looking up at George, who was now towering over him. 

"I've missed my mystery man," George said. 

He tangled his fingers in Dream's hair. Dream closed his eyes and embraced the feeling he'd wanted for so long. George's fingers ran through Dream's hair like butter. 

"Oh, yeah?" Dream asked coming out of his trance. 

"Yeah, I did. I even went to the bookshop a couple of times to see if you would miraculously show up. I missed you so much." George said. 

Dream took George's hand in his hands and inspected it. He noticed the small freckles and veins slightly popping through the top of his hand. He brushed his fingers along his hand. 

"I didn't leave my room at all in the first three weeks. I was a mess," Dream confessed into George's chest. 

George took Dream's hand in his and examined it, he noticed how thin it was compared to the last time he saw it. 

"Dream, what did you do to yourself," George asked. 

Dream put his hand to George's face and looked at him to meet his gaze. 

"I'm getting better, George. I was in a funk, I missed you so much I didn't know what to do with myself. I missed the little things. Like the way you say your r's, or the way you only laugh hard sometimes, or the way you say aluminum. I missed you and I didn't know how to fix it." Dream said. 

"When I showed up here and Niki told me you had left to see me as well, I thought you were coming to beat my ass," George said making Dream laugh. 

Dream stood up and was now taller than George, again. He rested his chin on his forehead and sighed. He missed the way George fit into his body so perfectly. 

"Do you feel it, too?" George asked. Dream's heart raced, what the hell was he talking about? 

George laughed,

"No! Not that, I mean, do you feel that... that," George started to trail off.

"Ugh! Nevermind, it was stupid anyway." George said. 

"No, no. Tell me. I won't judge." Dream said putting his hands through George's hair. 

"That, feeling. Like nothing around us can hurt us?" George asked. 

Dream smiled. 

"That, my friend, is called _love._ " Dream said. 

"Ugh, you are so annoying," George whined. 

George was right, there was something special about the bond they shared, something beyond romantic or platonic love. 

"I am not, you love me, George." Dream said laughing. 

They were interrupted by Niki standing in Dream's doorway. They quickly pulled away and both flushed red, making Niki laugh. 

"There's no need to be flustered," She said. 

"I am not." Dream snapped back wittily. 

Niki smiled and touched her hand to her heart. 

"Oh, Dream, I've missed you." She said hugging him. He smiled and hugged her back. He looked to George and winked, which made George blush even harder. 

He loved the control he had over George. The way just a simple body movement could make him flush bright red and turn away. He wondered what other kinds of control he had over him. 

"This was fun, and trust me, I would love for you two to catch up all day, but Sapnap and Punz are asking us to go over there," Niki said as she pulled away from Dream's embrace. 

The three drove to George's and Sapnap's house separately. They laughed and sang their favorite songs. They talked about how close George and Niki had become, and how Sapnap and Alexa were growing closer. And about Christmas, and how Dream needed to buy all of them gifts since they had all bought him gifts. It felt like how it did before all of it happened, before all of it went downhill. Except for, it was better. George was sat in the passenger seat of his car while Dream drove, with his hand intertwined with George's. Niki cooed in the back at their discovery of mutual love, even though she knew since the day George first stepped foot into the Institute that they had feelings for each other. 

-

They walked in the front door to Punz and Sapnap watching football on the tv. They both looked back and focused on George's and Dream's intertwined hands. George and Dream were nervous to tell their other friends, in fear of being judged. That was before Punz and Sapnap jumped out of their seats on the couch and screamed at each other sounds of triumph. 

"DUDE I fuckin' told you! Hand it over buddy," Punz said holding out his hand while Sapnap fished a twenty out of his pocket. 

"What?" Niki asked, seeing she was just as confused as George and Dream were. 

"I bet money that they would finally admit to themselves they were into each other. Sapnap didn't think it would happen until Christmas," Punz said with pride oozing from his face. 

Sapnap rolled his eyes. 

"Dude, they're both stubborn. I didn't think it would happen tonight," Sapnap said defending himself. 

Niki walked forward and held both hands out to the boys near the couch. 

"They kissed too, pay up bitches." She said, making the boys groan and hand her cash. 

George and Dream were both stood confused as ever at their friends standing before them. 

"What the hell is going on?" Dream asked. 

"Well, they bet money you'd confess. But I've known both sides of the story since you two met so I bet that you would kiss, which you did so they both owe me $20." She said, now pride oozing from her pores. 

George and Dream both rolled their eyes and laughed at the three who stood before them. 

"How did you guys know? We didn't even know," George asked as he walked to the kitchen. 

"Oh, come on. You guys were basically swooning over each other that first night before you saved Sapnap, it was a matter of time after that." Punz said, making Niki laugh. 

"It was so cute the way you read George's body language as if he were a book. I knew then and there something else was going on. And then when you marked him in the training room? Ugh, I almost died witnessing it. I'm not sure how you handled yourself, George." Niki said, making George blush. 

"Wait, I missed WHAT now? Dream MARKED George? What the hell?" Sapnap asked sounding hurt. 

"Oh my God! I'm done with this conversation. Clearly, everyone but us knew we liked each other, big deal! Now I'm hangry, can we get food please?" George asked pulling out his phone. 

Dream cooed at his angry tone and went behind him in the kitchen. The others were focused on their conversation, probably about them, nonetheless. He wrapped his hands around George's waist and rested his head on top of George's, sending chills down his back. 

George stiffened at Dream's touch before Dream slowly breathed down his neck, the heat of Dream's breath calmed George down immediately and made him soften into Dream's embrace. They stood looking down at George's phone before George perked up at the screen. 

"Guys! Satoki Sushi is having a buy-one-get-one-free special on their specialty rolls! I could really go for some sushi, can we go? I can put our name on the waiting list right now." George said. Everyone agreed and got ready to leave. 

George ran upstairs to get himself a sweater and Dream followed. George opened his closet door and started looking through his sweaters when he felt Dream's hands around his waist and kisses being planted on his neck. 

"Dream!" He whisper-yelled. 

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice was shaky from Dream's sudden action. 

"Do

You

Want me

To

Stop?" Dream said muffled in between kisses. 

"N-No," George stuttered.

"Y-Yes! I mean yes," He corrected himself. 

"You hesitated," Dream said softly, making George shiver. 

"I hesitated because no," He said turning around to look at Dream,

"I didn't want you to stop because I enjoyed it but we are about to go to dinner with our friends!" George said shooting Dream a glare. 

Dream crashed his lips onto George's and reached behind him into George's closet for a sweatshirt. 

He pulled away from a rather engaged George and handed him the hanger, which was holding a navy crewneck. 

"Wear this," He said. 

"Why this one?" George asked taking it off the hanger. 

"Because I like navy,

" _Especially on you,_ " He whispered into George's ear before he left the room, leaving George speechless and flustered. 

-

"Finally! There you two are. You guys can drive in George's car, I don't want to be hot from all the steam from you two." Sapnap said, making Dream roll his eyes. 

They got in their car and watched as the other three drove away in Punz's car. Dream groaned and started the car. 

"What's wrong?" George asked turning his playlist on shuffle. 

"I can't keep my hands off of you, George." Dream said as he looked backward, reversing the car.

He heard George's breath get caught in his throat after he said those words. 

George said nothing, but his body language said it all. He lifted his head to the ceiling, distracting Dream from the road at the sight of his bare neck, practically asking to be kissed. 

Dream rested a hand on George's thigh, making George's breath hitch. 

He said nothing, once again, and he placed his hand on top of Dream's. His hand was so much smaller compared to Dream's, he liked it. 

Dream slowly made his way closer to George's inner thigh, making George's heart rate raise. 

"Dream," George said assertively. 

"Stop it." He said, making Dream smirk. 

"Why? Am I making you nervous, George?" Dream asked, keeping his hand in the same tender place it was at before. 

"No, you're," He started. 

"I'm what?" Dream asked lowly, his voice vibrating against George's ears. 

"I'm _turning you on?_ " Dream asked, knowing just how to get to George. 

George moved his thigh out of Dream's grasp and shifted his upper body against the car door. He didn't respond, which answered Dream's question:

_Yes._

-

Throughout dinner, the two boys couldn't keep themselves off of each other. George wasn't one for PDA, but Dream was. He would do little things to provoke George, such as touch his thigh or touch their feet together, anything to get a rise out of George was worth it to him. 

"So, Niki, how's Wilbur? I haven't spoken to him at all since, you know," Dream said as he dipped his edamame in soy sauce. 

"He's good, he and the boys are getting caught up. I've texted him every day and called him yesterday to make sure he was alright. He really missed them," Niki said. 

The group finished their dinner and drove back to the institute. They discussed Christmas and gave Dream their lists of gift ideas. 

The four were sat around the kitchen counter as a stack of boxes fell next to them, the ornaments inside of them shattering. 

"Oh no, my ornaments," Niki said frowning at the shattered ornaments scattered across the floor.

She walked to the cabinet to get her broom and dustpan. 

"Don't worry, I got it," Sapnap said, twirling his hand. The ornaments were cleaned in a matter of seconds and the trashcan shut closed. Sapnap sat proud of himself at his new abilities. 

Dream rose from the counter and backed away from his friend. 

"What the fuck was that?" Dream asked. 

Everyone turned their gaze to meet Dream, who looked angry. 

"Oh, yeah, Sapnap's a sorcerer, like Tommy and Tubbo," Punz said nonchalantly. 

"I forgot to mention it," Sapnap said excitedly. 

Dream was anything but surprised. 

"What the hell do you mean 'forgot to mention it'? You forgot to mention you have downworlder magic and can do it in the blink of an eye? How did you do that so effortlessly? Like it was nothing? How long have you been hiding this?" Dream rambled as he backed away from his friends. 

"And you all knew?" He asked looking to the group. 

"Dream, it's been a long time since you spoke with us," Sapnap said. 

"I'm not hiding it at all, I forgot that I hadn't told you. I'm sorry," Sapnap said sincerely. 

"Or you were hiding it, possibly because you're a traitor," Dream said crossing his arms.

The group stared in disbelief. 

"A traitor?" George asked in shock. 

"Why would the fact that he has magic mean he's a traitor? Because he's not like us?" George asked, defending his friend. 

Sapnap sat with his head down. 

"Well, no, I'm just saying he was kidnapped by sorcerers, maybe he was work-" Dream started. 

"No, Dream, I think you need to stop. The fact that you are even questioning Nick's motives shows you clearly don't trust us anymore. He found out he has supernatural abilities, as I did. The only difference here is the type of supernatural. I think we're going to leave now because you questioning my- our- best friend is wrong and hurtful. Thank you all for a great night, we'll see ourselves out." George said as he took his friend to the door. 

"George, I didn't mean it like that," Dream started, but was interrupted by the front door shutting. 

He walked back into the kitchen to his friends staring at him. 

"Come on, guys. You see where I'm coming from, right?" Dream asked. 

"No, we don't. Because it's Sapnap we're talking about- not just anyone. Just because he has demon blood doesn't mean he's bad, just as because we have angel blood doesn't mean we're all good." Niki said as she and Punz walked out of the kitchen, leaving Dream alone with his thoughts. 

Were they right?

-

It was now George's turn to ignore Dream's calls. 

The entirety of the next day was spent by Dream apologizing to George and Sapnap and George not responding. Not out of pity for Sapnap- but out of anger. Sapnap didn't see it, but the way Dream's face turned sour when he saw Sapnap use magic was nothing like he'd ever seen from Dream, 

_Fear._

As if Dream had anything to fear from Sapnap. Sapnap was a kind and genuine person, and Dream had no reason to assume he would be a traitor. George trusted Sapnap, and he didn't need to prove to Dream why he did. 

"George, you know I'm not a traitor, right?" Sapnap asked the next morning over breakfast. 

George's heart fell. 

"Sapnap, of course, you're not," George said. 

"George, I'm no traitor and I never will be, but even if I was in cahoots with the other Warlock, I would tell you. You're my best friend, we're brothers. Even if I were a traitor to them, I would never be a traitor to you," Sapnap said making eye contact with George. 

"Not that I am! I'm just reassuring you that I would never do that to you," Sapnap said giggling slightly. 

"Sapnap, I know. I trust you." George said. 

The rest of the day they spent like old times- together. Just the two of them, no one else. They watched stupid action movies and played Minecraft on their old survival world, not the server with everyone else. 

George laughed at Sapnap's character in Minecraft when he heard his phone vibrate on his desk. He looked over at the contact name of the call,

_Dream._

"Answer it," Sapnap said, making George shift his head towards him. 

"He probably misses you, and I forgave him earlier today. It's your turn." Sapnap said, making George smile. 

George left to his bedroom and lied on his bed before calling Dream back. 

"George?" 

"Yes," 

"George, I'm so sorry. What I said was fucked up and I shouldn't have accused him of being a traitor. It caught me off guard and I didn't know how to react," 

"Dream, I understand you've been having a hard time, but you can't just lash out at people when something catches you off guard. We both forgive you, but this needs to stop." 

"I know, and I'm trying." 

"I know you're trying,"

The words made Dream sigh and sink into his bed. 

"I don't know what's wrong with me, George." Dream sighed into his hands, making George sink. 

"There's nothing wrong with you, Dream. You're going through a hard time, I'm always here for you." George said. 

"I don't know what I would do without you, George," Dream said quietly into his phone speaker. 

"I miss you," George said. 

"Then come to me," Dream said, making George's breath hitch. 

Just then, Sapnap knocked on George's door, bringing him out of his haze. 

"Come in!" George said, sitting upright on his bed, with Dream still on the other line. 

"Just letting you know I'm going to Alexa's, I'll see you tonight!" Sapnap said, closing George's door. 

"No, Dream, you come to me," George said into his phone. A smile grew on his face as he heard the other boy laugh and gather his things. 

-

George lied in Dream's arms as they talked. Dream played with George's hair as he talked about his life. They enjoyed each other's company, and they never wanted the night to end. 

"Clay." Dream said during a moment of silence. 

George turned around to look at Dream. 

"My name." Dream said. 

"Clay, it suits you," George said smiling. 

He pulled Dream in for a kiss and their lips touched, sending chills down George's spine. 

"Why are you telling me this?" George asked. 

"Because it was the only thing I felt was holding me back from you, from us," Dream said. 

"Us?" George asked smirking. 

"What is us?" George asked and he played with Dream's hand. 

"I don't know, whatever you want it to be." Dream said as he ran his fingers through George's hair. 

"Hmm," George said leaning back into Dream's arms.

"I think that we should stay in this grace period," George said, confusing Dream. 

"Hear me out, isn't it fun not having a label on this? Like, if we are dating, everyone will just assume when we hang out it is because we're dating, but if we're not officially dating, then no one will know what to think." George rambled. 

Dream kissed George's jawline, making him gasp.

"Why does it matter what others think?" Dream asked into George's neck.

"Because you're my mystery man," George said smiling. 

-

Christmas Eve arrived faster than anyone had noticed, but the friends were all sat in the living room of the institute sharing laughter over Sapnap's blushing face. 

"Guys, it's not even like that. We're friends." Sapnap said, making himself blush even harder. 

"That's how it always starts," Niki said, making a face towards Dream and George. 

"Speaking of," Punz started. 

"What are you guys? Like officially," Punz asked the two boys who were sat together on the couch.

"We're nothing official," George answered. 

The others looked at them with a confused glare. 

"So you're saying if I just went over there and gave Dream a big smooch you wouldn't care?" Sapnap asked with a smile creeping onto his face. 

"No, because I know he wouldn't care," George said. 

Sapnap stood up to walk to them and George sat up and gave him a look,

"Woahhh Gogy, calm down," Sapnap said laughing as he put his hands up. 

"I'm messing with you," George said laughing. 

George felt Dream squeeze his hand, which made George's heart glow. 

"What are we getting for Christmas Eve dinner?" Punz asked, changing the subject. 

"Dear Lord, not sushi. I can never step foot in that restaurant again," Sapnap said staring at Dream. 

Dream tilted his head back in laughter,

"Whaaaat? What are you looking at me for?" Dream asked through laughs. 

"Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about," Sapnap laughed as he motioned to George. 

"Dream was basically sweet-talking George that whole night, and he kept making George squirm like a bug, I couldn't see where his hand was though..." Sapnap said, trailing off at the end of his sentence. 

George lit bright red and covered his face with his hands. 

"I was not! Even if I was though," Dream started,

"I don't think he would've said to stop," Dream said lower toned, making George's insides go crazy. He loved when Dream lowered his voice like that. 

"Oh my God! I hate both of you, can we just order sushi for takeout? I want a crunchy roll," George said finally looking to the group, who were all laughing at his bright red face. 

No one responded, they were too busy laughing. 

"Fine, I'm going and getting sushi myself since no one wants any," George said stubbornly as he got up from between Dream's legs, where he had been laying. 

"Fine by me, I could use a break from all of the sexual tension in here," Punz added, making Sapnap go silent from laughing so hard. 

"I'll just go pick up Taco Bell for us three, unless you want any, Dream?" Punz asked as he pulled out his phone.

"No, I'll go with George. A California Roll sounds amazing right now," Dream said looking to George, who was putting his shoes on in the entrance room. 

The two boys left before anyone else could make another joke. The tension immediately rose as soon as they were alone in the car. 

As Dream drove, he could feel George's hand on his thigh move closer inward, sending Dream mad. 

"George..." He said. He couldn't keep himself still at the touch of George, which made him crazy.

"What?" George asked, sounding as casual and nonchalant as possible. 

"What are you doing," Dream said, his voice shaky. 

"What? Am I making you feel something?" George asked, his gentle accent driving Dream even crazier. 

"George, I'm going to get us in an accident," Dream said, his thigh feeling static-y like a television screen. 

"What's wrong? I'm just touching my friend's thigh, is there something wrong with that,

_"Clay?"_ George said ever so quietly, making Dream give in to the insane amount of emotion he was feeling. 

He leaned his head against his headrest and let out a huge sigh, 

It was visible what George was doing to him. 

George pulled his hand away slowly and turned to raise the volume of the music with a smirk creeping onto his face. 

Then he said nothing after that, he just sat staring out of the window and humming along to the radio, it sent Dream crazy. 

"What the hell was that for?" Dream asked, still recovering mentally from the last few minutes. 

"Oh nothing, just having a bit of fun," George said. 

"Fun? That's fun for you?" Dream asked in disbelief. 

"Where the hell did this side of you come from?" Dream asked again. 

"Oh come on, it's not like you told me to stop," George said. 

"Well just because I liked it doesn't mean it's the appropriate time for it," Dream said as he pulled to a stoplight. 

He grabbed George's face with his left hand and kissed him for a moment before the light turned green and he accelerated again. 

"That's fucked up, you know," Dream said finally relaxing. 

"What is?" George asked. 

"That! What just happened!" He said raising his voice slightly. 

"What are you talking about?" George asked trying to get Dream to say the words out loud.

"You fucking making me hard in the middle of us driving to get food!" He finally said, making George burst out laughing. 

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Dream asked giggling now as well. 

"It is pretty funny the control I can have over you," George said, lowering his voice. 

"Oh yeah?" Dream asked as he lowered his hand to the same place George's was, stopping him in his tracks. 

"D-Dream, what the hell!" He said moving Dream's hand from his thigh.

"Oh so you can do it to me but I can't do it to you?" Dream asked, now he was the one laughing. 

"I was paying you back for last time!" George said, making Dream laugh. 

"Oh, come on, that was nothing," He started, 

"I barely did anything to you then, all I did was touch your thigh." Dream said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it wasn't nothing for me," George said as the mood in the car eased. 

"That's just because you're easy to affect," Dream said, making George's eyebrows raise. 

"I am not!" He defended. 

Dream shifted to him, seeing as they were now parked in the dark parking lot behind the sushi restaurant. 

"Wanna bet?" Dream asked lowly, already making George shift in his seat. 

"No," George said, but it was too late. Dream already had his hands on George's thighs and his face in his neck, leaving a trail of kisses. 

George sat there, seemingly unphased. 

Dream made his way down to his collarbones, the ones that sent Dream crazy whenever George wore a low-cut shirt. He started leaving small marks on his collarbones, making George squirm in his seat. He leaned his head back against the corner of the seat and the car door, letting Dream entrance him with his movements. 

Dream moved up, connecting their lips as his hands ran through George's scalp, making George go crazy inside. 

Nothing had made George show any signs of reaction before Dream slightly pulled George's hair, which let a noise escape George's mouth. 

"Oh my God, that was hot," Dream said, his warm breath against George's neck. 

He gave him one last mark on his neck before he pulled away and turned off the car, leaving George panting. 

"See? Easy," Dream said as he stared at a helpless George, he was pushed against the door and his neck was starting to redden. 

"Fuck you," George said as he fixed his sweatshirt. 

Dream laughed and unlocked the doors. 

"Don't threaten me," Dream said, making George yelp. 

He laughed again at how easy George was, how easy it was for him to control the way he made George feel. 

They picked up their sushi and headed back home. They both kept their hands to themselves in fear that one more movement would result in either a car accident or a messy backseat hookup, which neither of them wanted. 

-

The next morning George woke everyone up at seven am, bright and early for Christmas morning.

He gently woke Punz and Niki up, but he jumped on Sapnap's bed, nearly trampling him, and shook him awake. 

"SAPNAP!!!!" George yelled, making his friend groan. 

"Wake up! It's Christmas!" George said as he shook his friend. 

"If you scream at me one more time I will punt you across the room like a fucking football," Sapnap said with a deep voice, George was used to how groggy Sapnap was in the mornings. 

He walked into Dream's room and jumped on the bed, the same as he did for Sapnap.

"WAKE UPPP DREAMMM," George yelled at the man sleeping before him. 

Dream groaned and didn't open his eyes. 

He was shirtless, George noticed, which made George slightly uncomfortable, but he was too excited to care. He was over the moon about spending his first Christmas with his new friends, and love interest. 

"Geoooorgggeeeeee," Dream groaned into his pillow. 

"Wake up, sleepy! It's Christmas!" George said as he shook Dream again. 

Dream eventually stood up and wrapped his arms around George from behind, filling George with a warm feeling. Not a sexual feeling, but the feeling that comes from being loved by another. 

"Merry Christmas, Gogy," Dream said into George's neck. 

"Merry Christmas, mystery man," George said through his smile. 

The five gathered around the tree after Sapnap had lit the fire, with his magic nonetheless, and they passed out presents. Each person had four presents, which was a lot more than Punz, Niki, and Dream had ever received. 

Sapnap and George insisted Niki opened hers first, she was so excited about her first Christmas they wanted to get her reaction first. 

She opened Sapnap's gift, which was a dainty silver necklace with a text engraved on the back of the jewel. 

_Merry Christmas, m'lady._

Niki awed at the necklace as Sapnap beamed with joy. 

"Awe, Sapnap, this is beautiful, thank you!" She said hugging Sapnap. 

She opened Punz's gift, which was earrings and a flat pan for cooking.

"I figured I'd get you a new one, considering I broke your old one," Punz said smiling, Niki laughed and thanked Punz with a hug. 

She opened Dream's gift next, it was a small silver arrow with a long white feather hanging off the end, and there was a message engraved on the back. 

_My favorite huntress in all of the shadow world_

Niki and Dream both giggled, it was a relic from the first fight Niki had ever beat Dream in during training, it brought a tear to her eye remembering all of the memories she and Dream shared over the years. 

"Okay, my gift is in my room. You need to close your eyes when I bring it out though, and you can't open them until I say you can," George said, making Niki tilt her head in confusion. 

"Okay, I won't," She said closing her eyes. 

George ran to his room and pulled a white box with a triangle opening out from under his bed and he placed her gift inside. 

"Okay, keep your eyes closed," He said as he approached the group with his gift.

The three others looked at him confused as he set the box down in front of her. 

"Open, quickly," He said. 

She opened her eyes and opened the box, she immediately started crying once she was met with what was inside the box. 

"George! You did not," She said covering her face with her hands.

The three others were confused until they heard a faint meow come from the box, and looked inside 

Niki pulled out a small grey and white kitten, who immediately purred at the sight of her owner.

"George, how did you even do this?" Niki asked as she cradled her kitten. 

"I went out early this morning and bought her, that's why I woke you all so early. She has been running wild around my room until just now before I got her," He said. 

"I hope you like her because that's the only thing I got you," George said, which made Niki laugh. 

"Yes! I love her, thank you so much, George," She said hugging her friend. 

"Dude, way to one-up our gifts," Dream said, making the others laugh. 

Sapnap and Punz opened their gifts, thanking everyone. Dream opened Niki, Punz's, and Sapnap's gifts as well, Dream's face lit up at Sapnap's note telling him that he would teach him how to play Minecraft. 

Dream had one present left, George's. 

He opened the big gift, which was a sage crewneck. Dream's face lit up at the color, George knew him too well. He got to the note, which George specifically said to not read out loud. He opened the note but George told the others to play with the cat so Dream wasn't pressured by their staring eyes. 

They listened and ran off with the kitten, leaving George and Dream alone while Dream read his letter. 

_Dear Dream,_

_I'm not sure when the next time I will see you is, perhaps never. It's been four weeks since you shut me out, and it's been the most painful four weeks of my entire life. I find myself dwelling on our past conversations, and reminiscing on what I could've said. I could've told you how crazy you make me. I could've told you all of the times I lied awake at night only thinking of your smile and the way your cheeks pinch when you smile hard enough. I could've told you about the little things you do that make me go slightly insane from desire. I could've told you of all the times I had to remove myself from being around you because I was pained by the absence of your touch. I could've told you how flawless you were that morning I woke you up before the mission. I could've told you about the way you made me feel when you gave up a fight for me. I could've told you about all of those things, but now I don't know if I ever will have the chance. I find myself dreaming of only your voice. I am in love with you, but not the idea of you, I am in love with the man underneath the Shadowhunter. I am in love with the brave, gentle, caring, sweet, sarcastic, loving man underneath the runes and battle wounds. I'm in love with everything about you. From the dip in your nose to the shape of your hand, I love every part of you. Even in your absence, you are my first thought in the morning and my last breath before I sleep. Thank you for listening to me when I sobbed and watching me when I laughed. But most importantly, thank you for never letting me down. I know that if you are reading this you haven't broken your promise to keep me safe, and I will never break mine. I love you, Dream._

_Your George._

Dream sniffled as he read the last line, tears were streaming down his face uncontrollably. 

He looked up to meet George's eager gaze. 

"I love you, George." Dream said, making George beam with happiness. 

Dream pulled George into his arms as he cried into his hair. George was facing away from Dream, lying down in between his legs. His head was just below Dream's chin and he sat there, overjoyed. 

"I love you so fucking much, George." Dream whispered into George's scalp, which made George laugh. 

"I take it you liked my gift?" George asked. 

Dream laughed as he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. 

"Yes, I'm framing this in my bedroom," Dream said as he clung onto the letter, which was now folded nicely back into the envelope. 

"I love you too, Dream," George said. 

The others returned to the living room with a half-concerned look on their face at the sight of Dream crying. 

"What the fuck happened?" Punz asked. 

Dream and George laughed as George sat up from Dream's arms. 

"I've never seen Deam cry in my entire life, and I'm older than him," Punz said cracking a smile. The friends laughed and George opened his gifts. 

He thanked everyone for their gifts, and he especially loved Dream's. It was another handwritten note, not as sappy as George's but it still meant the world to him, and a small chain with a gemstone on the end. The gemstone was a pale green, almost seafoam but brighter. 

"The supernatural world has its own plethora of ores and stones, the Dreamstone being one of them. It symbolizes aspiration and chasing something you love or desire. You're my Dreamstone, George." Dream said, making the others coo and awe. 

"You'll have me with you wherever you go," Dream said as he fastened the chain around George's neck. 

The day ended with the friends having fun and laughing, forgetting about all of the troubles in the world. Dream forgot about the favor he owed Tommy, and they forgot about the sudden alliance between some of the most powerful sorcerers in the United States.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! I've been waiting for this chapter since I wrote out the initial outline for the book, and I'm super happy with how it turned out! this chapter took me over three days to write and is over 6k words long, so I hope you enjoyed it!


	8. feather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of an nsfw warning for this one as well! not too crazy, like before, but honestly I didn't know what else to make the word count go up with, so here this is HAHA. i hope you enjoy it!

Wilbur paced back and forth in his room, contemplating his next move. He had heard Techno talking to Philza earlier that week about declaring war on the Shadowhunters. Techno hadn't been aware of the attacks on Caleo and was questioning why they had never retaliated. Philza explained that Tommy was in power to declare what was to be done next about his uncle's fate, but was too young at the time to make a decision. So since Techno had been away, they never did anything. That is until Tommy took Sapnap hostage to get a favor from Dream, which worked. 

Wilbur wasn't supposed to hear that conversation, considering he was a hunter as well. Techno wanted blood, he wanted war as a payment for his brother's death. Though Tommy wasn't his son, Techno had a love-hate relationship with Tommy as a parent would. Wilbur was like Tommy's older brother and Tubbo was his best friend. 

Tommy's parents were never around, they were the High Warlock of Portland, Oregon so they were too far to be of any help to him. He was left with his uncle in Florida until he died. Tommy was old enough to know he didn't want to leave Tubbo or Wilbur in Florida to move with his parents, so he stayed with Tubbo under Philza's roof until now. Tommy is now seventeen and knows he doesn't need revenge for his uncle's death. Techno, however, does know that he wants blood. He wants chaos and war, he wants the hunters to know who's in control. 

"Tommy," Wilbur said through Tommy's bedroom door. 

"Tommy, I need to speak with you," He said again knocking on his door. 

"Come in," Tommy said.

Wilbur opened Tommy's door and saw Tubbo there as well. He closed the door after he entered and asked one of them to cast a sound-proof spell over the room. Tubbo did, seeing as he's quicker with the simpler spells than Tommy, who is quicker with the more complicated spells. 

"Are you two aware of what Techno is planning?" Wilbur asked. 

The two looked at each other confused. 

"No, what's going on?" Tommy asked. 

"He wants to attack the hunters for your uncle's death," Wilbur said, making Tommy scoff. 

"Why would he do that? It's been nearly a decade since he died, why does he care now?" Tommy asked. 

"That's the thing, it's been nearly a decade since your uncle was killed and he just now found out you never retaliated," Wilbur said.

"But I did, I kidnapped Sapnap," Tommy said. 

"That is NOT retaliation," Tubbo added. 

"Retaliation is war, like he said. I don't want a war either, Tommy, but kidnapping a mundane and giving him back after isn't revenge, it's just a setback," Tubbo said. 

"But he's not a mundane, he's a sorcerer like us, Tubbo," Tommy added. 

"Doesn't matter, that's not revenge. And Techno wants chaos, he won't even let them surrender I recon," Tubbo said. 

"Well, I don't want war and neither does anyone else in this building. The only one who wants war is Techno, he can fight his own war if he must," Tommy said. 

"You know Phil won't let him do that," Wilbur said looking at the two boys that sat in front of him. 

Tommy sighed. 

"I need to speak with him," Tommy said getting up and opening his door. 

The two others followed him down to where Techno and Phil were eating breakfast. 

"Are you planning to go to war with the Shadowhunters?" Tommy asked as he pounded his fists on the table. 

"Well, good morning to you too, Tommy," Techno said as he set down his coffee mug. 

"Answer my question," Tommy said. 

"Well, I was planning on talking to you about it today anyway, sit down," Techno said as he motioned to the chair beside him.

Tommy sat at the other end of the table and folded his arms. 

"Alright," Techno said sitting up in his chair. 

"My brother died almost ten years ago. He died in cold blood. A Shadowhunter killed him. For no reason, mind you, and you have all done nothing about it. You just lived your silly little lives studying spells and making potions while I went and fought demons in London for the past ten years." He continued. 

"And I come back here to find out you've done nothing except for kidnap a mundane for one night and then give him back the next day? Like what the hell is this?" He asked laughing. 

"He wasn't mundane, though, he was a sorcerer just like us. I didn't know at the time, but I found out soon enough. And he's Dream's friend, and by giving him back, Dream now has a debt to pay to me. I can ask him for anything and he'll do it," Tommy said. 

"You think Dream means anything to me? He's an orphan that stays cooped up in the institute all day, and you know what I do to orphans," Techno said, laughing at his joke. 

"No but seriously, Dream means nothing to me. I could kill him in an instant, which I think I should. I think that I should kill him as revenge for my brother's death," Techno said. 

"He didn't kill my uncle," Tommy interrupted. 

"Punz did. If you're going to kill anyone, kill Punz." Tommy said. 

"Punz means less to me than Dream does," Techno said. 

"I'm killing Dream, and I'll kill anyone else that gets in my way," He finished, taking a bite of his toast. 

"What else do you want? Wilbur is a Shadowhunter for crying out loud! You're gonna kill him too? So is Niki! What can I do to make you stand down and forget about this? Nobody else in this castle wants war, and I'm sure Phil doesn't either," Tommy said motioning to Phil. 

Techno sat and thought for a moment, considering Tommy's words. He was right, nobody but him wanted war and they weren't nearly as prepared in combat as the hunters were. 

"Fine, you know what, I'll stand down. On one condition," Techno started. 

"I want Wilbur stripped of his runes and to finally come and practice magic. The magic that has been in your blood since you were born. I want you to stop being a Shadowhunter and to join us, the men who have loved you and cared for you since day one," He started. 

"And I want that sorcerer to come to us too. There is no reason a sorcerer should be in a shadowhunter territory, let alone working for them," He finished, looking to Wilbur. 

"Neither of them have anything to do with this!" Tommy argued but was pushed down in his chair by Techno, who had raised a hand to back him down. 

"Don't fight with me, Tommy, or you'll regret it," Techno said. 

"Those are my terms," Techno said. 

"You're not even the high warlock here! Phil is!" Tommy yelled. 

"I'll follow whatever Techno decides," Phil responded. 

Wilbur stood in disbelief. Why would Techno demand this now? 

"Fine, I'll do it. But I can't guarantee that Sapnap will agree. He loves George and Dream and I can't see him being happy about working for the men that kidnapped him," Wilbur said. 

"He's not working for them, we're simply showing him that he has great power," Techno said. 

-

Dream woke up with love on the brain. He had finally told George he loved him, though he had for a while. George was in his room across the hall and Dream already missed him. 

He went into George's room and was met by the sight of a sleeping George. 

_He's even beautiful as he sleeps._

He lied down next to him and wrapped his arms around George. George immediately sank into his arms and shifted his body to the perfect angle, making Dream melt. 

"Good morning," George said. His voice was raspy but no deeper than it usually is. The raspy voice made Dream excited. 

"Good morning, Gogy," Dream said as he kissed George's forehead. 

"How did you sleep?" Dream asked. 

"Fine, better now that you're here," George said. Dream laughed at the flawed response. 

"That doesn't even make sense, but it's ok," He laughed. 

George buried his head in Dream's chest, hiding his face.

Dream moved his hand under George's chin and brought his face to his and kissed him. 

"You missed me, that's why you're here," George said as he sat up in bed. 

"Well, yes, but I just remembered you were across the hall so I came to wake you up," Dream responded. 

"No, you can't even sleep without missing me," George started. 

"You could've just asked for me to sleep with you, I would've said yes, you know," He finished. 

"No, I can't. Because I can't control myself around you," He said, making George blush. 

"Not like that! Well yes, actually, like that," Dream laughed. 

"Boys, we have an issue," A sudden voice rang through the Institute, making George and Dream shoot up and run to the living room. It was Wilbur. 

Punz, Niki, and Sapnap met them in the living room as well, and Wilbur sat on the couch. 

"What's wrong?" Niki asked, still half-asleep. 

"Technoblade is declaring war," He said, making everyone standstill. 

"What the hell?" Dream asked. 

"What for?" He asked again. 

"He wants revenge for his brother's death," Wilbur said rolling his eyes. 

"Isn't why they took me? For payback?" Sapnap asked. 

"That's why Tommy took you, but Techno said it's not enough," Wilbur replied. 

"What do they mean not enough? What else do they want? Nobody wants war," Niki said. 

"I know, their people don't either. So I negotiated with him," Wilbur started. 

"He said he won't attack as long as I strip myself of my runes and join them- as a Warlock," He sighed. 

Everyone shook their heads. 

"Absolutely not! You haven't studied magic a day in your life and now all of the sudden Techno comes back from London and demands this?" Niki said, infuriated. 

"That's not all," Wilbur said, making everyone grow quiet again. 

"He wants Sapnap as well," Wilbur said looking to Sapnap, whose eyes widened. 

"Why do they want me?" Sapnap asked. 

"They think there's no reason a sorcerer should be working for or underneath a Shadowhunter," Wilbur replied making Dream scoff. 

"What the hell? We're friends, and they took Sapnap hostage for fuck's sake! Why would he go with them?" Dream said angrily. 

"I don't agree with it either, but either we follow his conditions or we fight a war," Wilbur said. 

"So what? We follow his terms now, Wilbur goes through a painful de-runing ceremony and Sapnap goes to live with the people that kidnapped him, then what? Techno leaves and comes back ten years later and demands something else? Its bullshit is what it is," Punz said. 

They stood in silence. 

"I guess we're fighting a war, then," Dream said as he walked to the kitchen. 

-

George lied in his bed staring aimlessly at the ceiling. His mind was running wild about the war, and how he didn't think he was ready. He was confident in his rune-drawing abilities, but his hand-to-hand combat was non-existent. He hadn't trained at all, and suddenly he has to go to war? 

"What are you thinking about?" Dream asked, tearing George from his thoughts. 

"Nothing," He lied. Dream sat on the opposite side of George's bed and sighed. 

"It's okay to be scared, you know," Dream said to George, making George sigh. 

"I've never even fought hand-to-hand, and now I'm meant to fight a load of sorcerers? Who can use magic to defeat me without any effort?" George asked, his voice shaking. 

"I have a plan," Dream confessed, making George perk up in hope. 

"I'm still working out the kinks, but I think we'll come out on top," He said, relieving George slightly. 

George didn't respond, his nerves still consuming him. Dream noticed this and rested his hand on George's knee. George looked up and met Dream's gaze. His eyes were soft, Dream could see how scared George was without him having to say anything. 

"Come," Dream stood and extended his hand to George. 

"I want to show you something," George stood and took his hand. He followed him through the long, dark wood corridors of the Institute and up several flights of stairs until they reached the roof. Dream led him into a glass greenhouse full of captivating flowers and walls lined with vines and moss. He observed George's gaze on the plants and watched the nerves fade from his face and slowly grow into a smile. 

"Why have you never showed this to me before?" George asked looking at Dream. Dream smiled and sat on the bench that overlooked the city. 

"Because nobody ever comes up here," 

"I've taken care of this place since my father showed it to me when I was ten, I don't even think the other hunters know it's here," He continued. 

"It was my dad's favorite place when he was alive, he spent so much time up here," He smiled as he looked down at his and George's intertwined hands. He drew circles on George's hand with his thumb,

"As a kid, I never knew why my dad liked it up here so much. After all, it's just a bunch of plants that need constant care. But, every day after academy he would take me here and teach me how to care for every single plant in this greenhouse,

"He showed me which one's needed sunlight and which ones stayed in the back, he showed me which ones needed the mulch and which ones needed normal dirt, he showed me how much water each one needed, he told me everything about these plants.

"After he died, my immediate thought as a twelve-year-old was to let all of it die, I didn't care about it as my father did. So I left it for a day or two, then the third night after he died I was bored and came up here, 

"I noticed all of the plants slowly wilting from lack of care. Instead of throwing them off the roof as I'd planned to, I took care of them. I gave them water, changed their soil, replanted them, gave them fertilizer, injected the plant-food they needed, I did exactly as my father taught me to.

"And every single night after that, I've come up here and taken care of his plants. It's been a decade and not a single plant has died. They're supernaturally grown, so they don't need seasons to keep them alive. As long as they're taken care of, they'll live and we can use them for potions and medicinal use." He looked around at the hundreds of different plants around him, examining every single one checking for flaws. 

"That's great you took care of him after he passed," Was all George could manage to say. He didn't know Dream's past with his father. Dream never talked about his dad, at least not to George. 

"See this one," Dream said as he pointed to a small white flower. 

"This one was my dad's favorite," He said smiling down at the delicate flower. Its petals were long and soft, with small speckles of red rising to the surface. 

"Why's that?" George asked, now standing next to Dream. 

"Because it was my mother's favorite," He smiled at the flower, the countless memories of his mother flooding back to him all at once. 

"That's really sweet, what's it called?" George asked, still unsure of his boundaries in this situation. 

"It's called a Jodie flower. They are healing flowers, their magic stemming from their petals," 

"See, look here at the red dots on the flower, the red dots slowly grow into fully red petals, that's when they're ready to be picked and used," He said pointing to an almost-red flower planted behind it. 

"These flowers are extremely easy to care for, they need little to no help growing," He said, a laugh forming at the end of his sentence. 

"What is it?" George asked. 

"You're going to think this is crazy, but this is a supernatural flower," He started, walking back to the bench they were sat on previously. 

"It needs little to no care, but it does need attention,"

"Jodie flowers need attention to bloom, meaning they need their petals touched or words are spoken around them to bloom properly. As does a human, it needs emotional attention not physical attention," Dream laughed, remembering his mother. 

"That's interesting," George said as he looked back to the Jodie flower, whose speckles were already growing larger. 

"Look! The petals!" George said astonished as he got up to look back at the flower. 

Dream smiled at George's amusement. 

"How have you kept them alive all these years?" George asked as he lightly brushed the petals with his fingertips. 

"I talk to them, they're like my personal therapist," 

"Only they respond by blooming further, which was a good enough response for me these past few years," George looked back to his friend, who looked like he was tearing up. 

"What's wrong?" George asked. 

"Nothing, I've never shown anyone this before," He said, making George afraid that Dream regretted showing it to him. 

"I'm glad I showed you, though," 

"I really care about you, George, I trust you," George's heart fluttered as he smiled back at him. He rested his head on Dream's shoulder and sighed. 

"I love you, Dream," George said, making Dream smile and kiss George's forehead. 

"I love you too, George. I don't know what I would do without you," He said into George's hair. 

"We should probably get back, they'll think we're doing something bad," Dream said as he stood from the bench and outreached his hand to George. 

"What kind of bad?" He asked, resulting in a smirk from Dream. 

"You know, things," Dream said, his voice low. 

They walked out of the greenhouse and down the steps of the first staircase. The hallway was empty, seeing as no one came to the fifth floor. 

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" George asked, making Dream look back at him with a smirk. 

Dream pulled George close to him and kissed his neck, sending chills down George's spine. 

"Like this," Dream said, his hot breath on George's neck. 

"Awe, well that's not too bad," George giggled lightly, consumed by the happiness he felt when he was around Dream. 

Dream made his way up to George's cheek, planting small kisses on his face until he got to George's lips, which he crashed into passionately. Their hands wrapped around each other's bodies like knots, and George played with Dream's hair, making him smile. 

"You know I like it when you play with my hair," Dream whispered into George's ear, making George yearn for more. 

"We're standing in the middle of the hallway, you know," George said as he caught his breath. 

Dream took his hand and led him down the hallway to a corridor of guest bedrooms. He unlocked one of them with his master key and locked the door behind them. 

"Nobody will find us here, I don't think anyone's been up here in years," Dream said as he locked the door. 

"I see that," George said as he motioned to the dust lining the window. 

Dream laughed lightly, 

"Whatever, it's peace and privacy for a quick little makeout sesh," Dream said as he pulled George closer to him again, making George gasp. 

Dream cupped George's face and kissed him, George melting into Dream's touch. George played with Dream's hair as he kissed him, a small sound coming from Dream. 

"Oh, you really like when I play with your hair," George said. Dream groaned and pushed George onto the bed behind them. 

George was on his back, propping himself up on his elbows as Dream stared down at his body. He felt vulnerable, but he didn't mind around Dream. 

Dream climbed on top of him and kissed him again, and George held Dream's jaw with one hand and had his other on his back. George intentionally didn't play with his hair, wanting him to ask. 

"George," Dream said breathily through kisses. 

"Yes, Dream?" George asked, he knew he was teasing him. 

"Why'd you stop," Dream asked, making George smile. 

"Stop what?" He asked. 

"Fuck you," Dream said as he kissed George's neck, making him yelp. He bit George's neck, leaving hickeys lining his collarbones. His collarbones were his sweet spot, and Dream knew that. 

He unintentionally tangled his hands into Dream's hair and pulled, making another small noise escape Dream's mouth.

George could feel the marks on his neck starting to form, but he didn't care. He pulled Dream back up to his face and kissed him again, Dream laughing at George's desperate actions. They both ached with desire, and Dream pulled at George's shirt, making George smile. They both wanted it but knew they shouldn't. 

George slid his hand underneath Dream's shirt and felt his stomach, his ab muscles contracting at George's touch. Dream played with George's hair, and they both yearned for more. They wanted each other's touch so badly it was painful. They both had neglected erections in their pants, but couldn't satisfy them. Dream found himself tugging on the waistband of George's sweats, and George was pulling Dream's sweatshirt further off by the second. Dream pulled away and pushed his head against George's, out of breath. 

"We can't," Dream said as he took his hand from George's waistband. 

"Why can't we keep doing this?" George asked, confused. 

"Because I can't control myself around you, George. I can't put myself in that situation, I want you too bad. I want you in a way we're both not ready for," Dream continued, sitting up and pulling down his sweatshirt. 

"I am ready," George said, still panting. 

"George," Dream trailed off, knowing those words made him weak. 

"I am, I love you, Dream. I want to share that part of myself with you," George said, sitting up and kissing Dream's neck. Dream sighed. 

"Not now, I want it to be special, for both of us. Not an old dusty bedroom on the fifth floor, that's not special," He said. George sighed, realizing he wasn't the one that wasn't ready for this. 

"Well, anything with you is special, Dream, but I understand," George sighed into Dream's shoulder. 

-

Sapnap had been roaming the halls aimlessly looking for something to do when he saw Punz sitting at his computer chair, and decided to join him. 

"Hey," Sapnap said as he stood at Punz's bedroom door. His eyes darted to Sapnap and he smiled, inviting him in. 

"What's up?" Punz asked, swiveling his chair to face Sapnap. 

"I'm bored and anxious. I want to prepare for this war and be of help to you guys. I mean, I'm an actual sorcerer going against a shit ton of sorcerers, I could be of great help to you guys,"

"I know basic protection spells and can enchant your guys' weapons if you'd like, but I want to know _more._ " 

"Like, I need to know fast healing spells and combat spells that I can use to take down the sorcerers, or at least hold them off until Dream can take care of Techno," Punz looked back at his friend, studying his face. He knew something that he wasn't saying,

"What do you know, Sapnap?" Sapnap's eyes darted to his friend, Punz knew he knew something. 

"I think I have like... a special ability that they don't know I have. Them being the other warlock," He confessed, resulting in a confused look from Punz. 

"Look, the other day George and I were messing around. He tripped and scraped his ankle and there was seriously fucking blood everywhere," 

"And he pulled out his stele to use his healing rune but I stopped him and asked if I could try and fix it, and he said yes. So, I used my hand to lift his pant leg and I got this weird surge of energy like all throughout my body, and I could hear this spell in my head. It was like a voice- I don't know whose voice- but it was a voice telling me a spell. So, I whispered the spell and his cut completely vanished."

"In a second it was gone like it was never there. There weren't even blood markings, it was almost like time had reversed and it didn't even happen at all." Sapnap said, making Punz even more confused. 

"Isn't that just like... sorcerer intuition? I'm sure you had to have seen that spell somewhere," Punz asked. Sapnap shook his head. 

"Nope,"

"But I'll get to that, it was after I healed him that something clicked in my head. George was tired, like borderline exhausted. And for no good reason, he had been completely fine while we were messing around before and then I healed him and he just drained. He had to sit down and eat to regain strength." 

"So I thought that was super weird, like wouldn't he be more energetic after I fixed him? It was weird, so I went to my book of spells and looked up the spell I used. Mind you- some random voice in my head told me this spell- and it was _nowhere._ There was no spell in the book that came even remotely close to what I said, let alone the effects it had on George."

"It was amazing, the cut was extremely deep and blood was everywhere, it had even gotten on the floor. But in not even three seconds after I cast that spell, it was gone like it never happened. The blood was gone, the cut was gone, there wasn't even a scar. But George was completely drained of strength." Punz was completely lost by Sapnap's words at this point and didn't say anything. He just nodded for Sapnap to continue his story. 

"So a few days later, I had cut my hand on one of my razor blades in the bathroom. So, I used the same spell. I've never studied this spell in my life but I remembered the spell from the last time I had used it and decided to use it again. The same thing happened, everything was gone without a trace. But this time, I was fine. I wasn't tired or weak at all," 

"So I assumed it was because I did it on myself. So I waited until George got hurt again, which didn't take long, and I used it on him. This time I didn't touch him, and he was _fine._ He was completely fine! No dizziness or tiredness or weakness, nothing! I had used the same spell and it worked how it's supposed to!" He said enthusiastically, Punz still confused. 

"So what, you can create spells?" Punz asked, desperately trying to connect any dots he could. 

"Yes! But not just that, I think what's happening is I'm absorbing the supernatural energy from others and using it to create these spells," 

"And I tried creating another one in a normal situation and it didn't work. I used George to create another one and it didn't work, I saw no spell and heard no voice. And George was fine." 

"So, I absorb the supernatural energy from others, completely draining them of all power and strength, and use it to create spells. But only spells that are needed in that situation- I can't just pull one out of thin air," Punz was starting to understand.

"So, you can help us during the war!" Punz exclaimed, a smile on his face. 

"Yes! Technically, but if it's a dire situation, I need to mooch energy off of one of you guys," Sapnap huffed, making Punz laugh. 

"And the other warlock don't know this?" He asked, scanning Sapnap. 

"No, not that I know of, at least," Sapnap replied, making Punz smile. 

"So we've got our own little spell generator here, nice," Punz said, making Sapnap smile. 

Oh Punz, always managing to see the good in situations. 

-

Tommy drove as fast as he could, he was still getting used to how the car worked. He pulled in front of the institute and got out of his car, being greeted by a cold wind. 

He knocked on the door of the institute, expecting an angry Dream to open the door and tell him to get lost. 

But it wasn't Dream, it was Wilbur. 

"Tommy? What are you-" Wilbur started, half enthusiastically, before getting interrupted by Tommy.

"I need to speak with Dream," He said, Wilbur stepping aside to let Tommy in. 

Tommy had never seen the inside of the Institute before- only the outside. He waited by the door while Wilbur went to fetch Dream, who had been gone for a very long time. 

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" Dream appeared out of nowhere, scaring the life out of the teenage boy. 

"I've come to speak with you," Tommy replied, still terrified of the all-mightly shadowhunter that will one day rule the Institute of Florida. 

"About?" Dream replied. 

"Dream," Tommy started, leaning over the kitchen counter they were stood at. 

"I need to cash in my favor," Tommy replied, making Dream's eyes flicker. 

"What is it?" He asked. Tommy could hear the nervousness in his voice- Tommy liked that. He liked being in control over Dream. 

"I need you to be my personal bodyguard for this war," He said, making Dream stop dead in his tracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you sm for reading! I'm willing to take ideas for the book from anyone who is reading currently- which there are very few of you. so leave any suggestions In the comments!


	9. battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: suicide mentioned briefly!

Dream stood in disbelief at the words that left Tommy's mouth.

"What?" Dream's voice shook. 

"Don't fret, hunter, I'm sure you have a plan you're working on to avoid this war altogether, correct?" He shrugged- unphased. 

"Well, yes, but I'm not sure if it'll work," He scratched the back of his neck as he internally doubted his plan. 

"I think I may have a better idea- unless we're thinking the same thing," Tommy said, piquing Dream's interest. 

No matter how much he disliked Tommy, if he could help them all avoid a war, he would do whatever it took to keep George from getting hurt. 

"Go on," Dream said, making Tommy smirk. 

"You see- what's something that can make Techno finally back down?"

"The only thing that Techno will back down to is power, if he knows he can't win he won't engage in the fight at all," 

"And who's one person that has an army ten times larger and more powerful- in spells and hand-to-hand combat?"

"Minx," 

"Minx and her Seelie army are no match for Techno, no matter how hard he tries to deny it, he will lose." Tommy proposed. Dream was taken back by the smart idea that came from this sixteen-year-old boy in front of him. 

"Why would she agree to this? It's not their fight, so why would they help us?" Dream questioned.

"I've already thought about that. Minx owes me a favor," Tommy smirked. 

"You're one to get favors from others, aren't you?" Dream laughed slightly, making Tommy less anxious. 

"But, how do I know you're not manipulating me? How am I certain you won't go back to Techno and tell him our plan?" Dream asked. 

"Because truthfully I do not want a war- no matter how much I love chaos, I'm not prepared for a fight. You Shadowhunters are much more advanced in combat, and now that you have Sapnap fighting with you, you'll have magic as well. He can enchant your armor to reject magic, and cast protection spells on you, and enchant your weapons to be no match for ours. We stand no chance, no matter how stubborn Techno wants to be about it," Tommy explained. 

"Well, if we are allying with the Seelie, we better leave soon," Dream proposed, making Tommy beam with happiness. 

"I'm not letting you ally with strangers on my behalf," Sapnap interrupted. 

"Wilbur and I spoke, we're both willing to give ourselves up to Techno. And then Tommy doesn't need to use his favor and we don't go to war," He pleaded, receiving a laugh from Dream. 

"Sapnap, you're not giving this up for me. I caused this mess, I'll clean it up," He laughed, patting his friend on the back. 

"You didn't though, I did. I'm the reason this started," Sapnap said, making Tommy chuckle. 

"Well, actually, I'm the one who created this current mess, but it was really Punz who started the mess with my uncle," Tommy chuckled but sighed at the memory of his uncle. 

"Tommy, you do know Punz didn't kill your uncle, right?" Dream questioned softly, not wanting to trigger Tommy. 

"What do you mean? It was Punz, I- I remember him standing over his dead body?" Tommy almost questioned, not certain about his words. 

"Punz was twelve when your uncle was killed, Tommy, he didn't kill him. It was a Shadowhunter who killed your uncle, but not Punz," Dream said. 

Tommy stood with his thoughts for a moment, not sure whether to believe his memories or the tall Shadowhunter boy next to him. 

"It doesn't matter- we need to get to the Seelie court as soon as possible," Tommy announced, trying to change the sore subject. 

"Who's coming with us?" he asked, looking to Dream. 

Dream stood in silence. He wasn't sure whether he should tell George or not. Partly because he didn't want to bring George into a potentially dangerous situation- but also because he wasn't sure how he would react if George interacted with Andrea again. It was inevitable they would see her again, considering she is Minx's leader in command. 

"Can George and I come?" Sapnap asked, making Dream look to his friend. Dream sighed, unsure of what to do. 

"Come on, Dream, let us meet the woman who may single-handedly save our asses," Sapnap said, making Dream laugh. 

"Fine, let me get George," Dream gave in, stepping towards the hallway where George was in his room.

"Get to know each other, would you? We might be allies after this, might want to resolve your issues now," Dream said motioning to Sapnap and Tommy, who gave him a puzzled glance before he disappeared around the corner. 

Dream neared George's room, his heart pounding out of his chest. He was nervous for George to see Andrea again. He knocked on his door, a silent "come in," followed. Dream opened the door to George sitting on his bed aimlessly staring at the ceiling. 

"What are you doing?" Dream questioned curiously. 

"Nothing, just thinking about you, actually," George replied, making Dream melt. 

"What were you thinking about?" Dream couldn't help but ask, his mind wandering to the darkest of places at that moment. 

"How much I love you, and how much I _want_ you," George emphasized 'want', making Dream tremble silently. 

"Oh, really?" He asked, inches away from George's face. 

"What did you come in here for, again? Or are you just here to give me blue balls again?" George asked, making Dream erupt in laughter, the tense moment now gone. 

"I came to tell you about our plan of an alliance for the war," He began,

"Tommy has come to us telling us that Techno is going to declare war- backing up what Wilbur said this morning- but also, Tommy cashed in his favor," 

George shot a worried look to Dream. 

"He wants me to be his bodyguard in the war, meaning I can't protect you. So we formed a plan of alliance with the Seelies, meaning there will hopefully be no war at all," He confessed, making George plant his head on Dream's shoulder. 

"Isn't Andrea a Seelie? Well, faerie, a Seelie type?" George questioned, making Dream's heart sink. 

_He's already thinking of her and we haven't even left yet._

"Uh, yeah. She is," Dream replied quietly as he looked down to his lap. 

George lifted his head from Dream's shoulder and pulled Dream's face up to his and kissed him softly. He could tell Dream was insecure about him and Andrea's past. 

"Dream, you have nothing to worry about with Andrea," George whispered. Dream smiled slightly but still had his eyes fixed downward. 

George planted another kiss on Dream's lips, this time more passionate and long. Dream engaged in the kiss, moving his hand up to George's face, pulling George closer to him. George smiled through their kiss, he was so in love with this boy it hurt him sometimes. They pulled away after a few seconds and pressed their foreheads together. 

"I love you," George declared. Dream kissed his cheek softly. 

"I love you too, now let's go before they get suspicious," Dream said, his nerves subsiding. 

The two walked out with their arms linked and George leaning his head on Dream's shoulder. Tommy and Sapnap glanced at the two lovebirds and rolled their eyes. 

"Get a load of these two, every second I look and see them making out again," Sapnap said motioning to George and Dream, who laughed at his statement. 

"Jesus Christ, this is why I talk to girls on Snapchat and not in real life, they be too clingy in real life," Tommy said making Sapnap giggle. 

"Oh shut up, Sapnap, you're just too pussy to ask Alexa to be your girlfriend," George clapped back making Sapnap flush pink and Tommy burst out laughing. 

"Oh, so he's a simp, just a pussy too," Tommy questioned, making Sapnap roll his eyes and the other two laugh. 

"You guys aren't official either, you went from longing to fucking in a matter of twenty minutes," Sapnap exposed, Dream and George going silent. 

He was half right, after all. 

"Let's get to the Seelie court, shall we?" Dream asked, changing the subject. 

The four left to the Seelie headquarters, all of them equally as nervous. 

-

"Aw, what the fuck is he doing here?" Minx whined at the sight of Tommy. 

"It's nice to see you as well, Minx," Tommy laughed, making Minx lower her phone and roll her eyes. 

Minx was tall and high-strung. She had long amethyst hair with accents of white throughout. She had thick black eyeliner that accentuated her large eye shape. She was beautiful, nonetheless, but terrifying. She had a deep accent and harsh tone, making the four wince. 

"Why are you here? And who are these, rather attractive, men you bring with you?" She questioned, observing the three other men who were stood in front of her. She was particularly fond of George, her eyes trailing off. 

"These are George and Dream, Shadow children, and this is Sapnap, a fellow sorcerer," Tommy said as he motioned to the guys, who stood in fear of the powerful woman stood before them. 

She nodded as she examined the guys again, now knowing what they were. 

"Funny names, don't you think?" She asked with a smirk, it made George chuckle. 

"George thinks I'm funny," Minx declared as she smiled at George. He smiled back, which made Dream's blood boil. 

"Anyway, why are you here?" She asked, drawing her attention back to the stem of grapes she was eating. 

"Technoblade is declaring unnecessary war on the hunters and we need your alliance to overthrow Techno, in simple phrasing," Tommy disclosed, piquing Minx's interest. 

"Interesting, and how will you repay me for this?" She questioned, her focus still on her green grapes. 

"Well, there'll be no war but I can re-enchant your guys' weapons and armory, which I'm certain by now is running weak, or I can cast any other spell you'd like," Tommy replied, trying to make his debt a last resort. 

"I have a personal sorcerer now," Minx said as she looked to her left at a tall brunette man with odd facial hair smiling back at her. 

"So, you'll have to come up with a better bargain," She smiled back at Tommy, her tone vicious as ever. 

Tommy rolled his eyes and sighed. 

"Well, I do have a certain... favor I'd like to cash in," He said lowly, catching Minx's attention. 

"You'd like to use that now? For a couple of Shadow children?" She questioned Tommy's actions. 

"Yes, doesn't matter why. Will you do it?" He said, brushing past the judgment. 

"Yes, I will. But after this, I owe you nothing, got it, British boy?" She said harshly, to which Tommy nodded reluctantly. 

"Alright, what do I need to do?" She said placing her palms on the table before them, still staring at George. 

The six, including her mysterious mutton chop man, discussed the plans of the alliance, clarifying that harming Techno will be their last resort possible. Minx rolled her eyes, expressing that she and Techno have life-long beef that she needs to tend to, but promised she would tend to that on her own time. 

The plan was simple; ambush Caleo with Seelie kind and Shadowhunter alike- Tommy will warn Tubbo beforehand- and confront Technoblade, saying they will destroy every last ancient book in all of Caleo if he doesn't back down and flee Florida. Minx assured them that Philza and the ancient books of Caleo mean more to him than a fight, guaranteeing he will back down. The four accepted her plan, and she assured them she would be safe with the help of her sorcerer's protection. 

Tommy looked to Dream during their discussion and told him he still needed to hold up his end of the deal- to protect him- and he agreed, reluctantly. 

Dream looked to George, who seemed to be lost throughout all of this, and squeezed his hand. Dream reassured him that he would be protected the entire time, no matter what debt he paid to Tommy. 

The four left the Seelie court, also known as Salem, and were to meet at Caleo at nine am the next morning. The car ride back to the Institute was silent, not even the radio played for the first half of the drive. Everyone was engulfed in their thoughts and considerations for the potential war the next morning. George eventually couldn't handle the loud silence and connected his phone, playing random rap music on repeat. Sapnap lifted his head and immediately started singing once Runnin' by 21 Savage played. The mood in the car lightened afterward. They allowed Tommy to stay the night at the Institute in fear of him being ambushed by Techno if he returned. He agreed, though he was afraid that Tubbo wouldn't be able to fend for himself without Tommy. 

George and Dream were the last two awake in the living room before the potential war in the morning. They lied on the couch in each other's embrace while they watched a random cooking show on Food Network. Both afraid of what tomorrow might bring. They were in their normal lying position; George facing away from Dream between Dream's legs, his head lying on Dream's chest. Dream ran his fingers through George's hair as George drew circles with his thumb on Dream's knee. George's touch sent shivers up Dream's leg, but he would never admit it. 

"What do you think will happen tomorrow?" George asked Dream quietly, afraid of waking the others.

"I'm not sure, but I want to believe Techno will back down if we threaten Phil and the books of Caleo," Dream ran his fingers through George's hair as he spoke, the motion calming him down. 

"Yeah, you want to believe that," George began as he turned his body to face Dream, his chin now resting on Dream's chest as he looked up. 

"But what _do_ you believe?" George's words rung in Dream's ears; George knew Dream better than he knew himself, he didn't even know that he had other theories of what the outcome of tomorrow would bring. 

"I-" 

"I don't think he will go down without a fight. I think that he will hurt one of you to get to me, I'm the one he wants to hurt, he's always had it out for me, even as kids," Dream confessed, making George anxious. 

"We're the same age, me and Techno, and even as kids he would always find a way to make me get the short end of the stick. Our moms were friends, so we had to hang out together. I hated it- he would make me feel like shit all the time. He made me feel like I wasn't good enough. He always outdid me with his magic and combat skills, and he was quicker than I was."

"I was no match for him as kids, and as we grew up and I became more advanced in my abilities and finally started to catch up to him, he made it even more of a priority to sabotage me. Every chance he got he would try to defeat me. Soon, I started beating him and it made him angry," Dream explained, tears brimming his eyes. George pressed a thumb to Dream's cheek and wiped away his tear, cupping his face in his hand. 

"Don't cry, he's not worth it," George said softly. 

Dream smiled and nuzzled into George's hand, which made George explode. 

"I'm not crying over him," 

"I'm crying over you, George," 

"I'm crying because sometimes I swear I'm still dreaming. I swear that I'm still in a malnourished coma on my bedroom floor dreaming only of you. You're an angel, George, and I don't know what I would do without you." Dream confessed, making tears brim George's eyes as well. 

"I can assure you you're not dreaming, because I feel sometimes like I'm lying in bed at home as well, dwelling on our conversations and creating scenarios in my head to fill the void of missing you," George replied, leaving Dream smiling into George's hand. 

George lifted himself and kissed Dream softly. He kissed back and cupped George's face as he pulled away, touching their foreheads. 

"My room," Dream said quietly. 

George got up and ran to Dream's room giggling, Dream chasing him close behind. When Dream caught up to him, he wrapped his arms around George's waist and kissed his jawline from behind, making George giggle uncontrollably. They walked into Dream's room and George looked around, he hadn't seen it since the day they first kissed. Nothing had changed. The paintings were still lining the floorboards and there was an unfinished sketch on one of Dream's sketchpads. Dream noticed this and quickly ran to flip the cover over the sketchpad, hiding his unfinished work. 

"What's that?" George asked. Dream looked back to him and smiled, pulling George towards him by his waist, their lips centimeters away from each other. 

"Nothing," Dream mumbled into their kiss, which was long and passionate. George giggled again and ran his fingers through Dream's hair, making Dream smile into their kiss. 

_Not now. Not now. Not now._

Dream thought to himself as he refrained from ruining this pure moment between the two. The feeling of George's hands through his hair was like none other, making him yelp internally. 

"Can you sleep in here tonight, George?" Dream asked suddenly, making George beam with happiness.

"Of course," He replied as he climbed in the comforters on the right side of the bed, making Dream laugh. 

"What?" George asked, not knowing whether to smile or frown back at Dream's reaction. 

"You sleep on the right side of the bed, I sleep on the left. I always have," Dream smiled as he climbed into bed next to his love. 

"Hmm, I guess we're just perfect then," George teased, making Dream's heart explode. 

Dream pulled George's waist to his and he kissed George's neck, making him giggle yet again. They were spooning, which made Dream feel the best he's ever felt. They didn't talk. They lied in each other's embrace in silence, Dream occasionally kissing George's jawline or cheek if he felt like it, George's heart skipped a beat until they fell asleep in the comfort of each other's arms. 

-

Niki, Wilbur, Tommy, Sapnap, Punz, George, and Dream all prepared themselves, thanks to Sapnap's protection spells, and headed for Caleo. Tommy had warned Tubbo the night before, saying to leave the castle at eight-fifty to meet us at the front gate. George had marked himself at dawn, making sure every mark was accessible and ready for usage. He had trained with Dream frequently to the point where he was ok in combat, but not the greatest. Dream had been training non-stop, and eating more often as well, resulting in him gaining his muscle back to the state he was in before. Wilbur had been practicing with Punz and Sapnap as well, all three of them prepared for battle. Niki trained on her own time but never revealed her talents to anyone. Niki prioritized her healing abilities and relied on the element of surprise for most. 

The seven of them met with Minx, her sorcerer, Schlatt, and the entirety of the Seelie court by her side. There were hundreds of warriors, men and women, sorcerer and fighter, young and old, all gathered behind Minx and Schlatt prepared for any battle they may face. The Seelie surrounded all of Caleo, seeing as it was a smaller building, and drew their arrows for fire. 

Tommy and Sapnap worked together with their magic to create a voice amplifier for Dream to use to alarm Techno. 

"Come out, Technoblade, you're surrounded. We just want to talk," Dream said into the orb of orange and yellow energy that formed from Sapnap and Tommy's hands. They bro-hugged each other after Dream had spoken, being proud of themselves. 

In a matter of seconds, Techno was walking out of Caleo's front doors, Philza by his side. His pink man-bun rocking from side to side as he walked. He wasn't wearing his crown or his cape, looking like he was completely unprepared for battle. 

He finally approached the group and Dream stood tall in front of George, planting his feet into the snow piling before them and holding his weapon close at his side. 

"Based on your hundreds of warriors, it doesn't look like you just want to talk," Techno started casually as he looked around to the hundred of powerful supernatural creatures all pointing their blades and arrows at him. 

"This is backup for if you decide you want war, considering you did declare it. But I really do just want to speak with you," Dream declared, holding direct eye contact with Techno. 

"Hmm, is this your little loverman? He's small, don't you think?" Techno asked, Dream's blood boiling at the sound of Techno talking about George. 

"Don't talk about him, he's not why we're here," Dream said through his teeth, amusing Techno. 

"Oh, but isn't he? Isn't he the reason you met this one here? Which led to Tommy's dumbass taking him for ransom? Isn't your loverman why all of this started in the first place?" Techno asked, trying to get a rise out of Dream. 

Wilbur stood back in disgust, how could Techno stoop so low as to insult the one thing Dream truly loves, just to spite him? Techno wasn't the man he once knew. 

"No, he isn't. This all started because you're mad a Shadowhunter killed one of your own, even though it was the Warlock that started it all. Remember that, Technoblade? Don't you remember when your father killed my mother out of pure, cold, _spite?_ " Dream said lowly, now amused by Techno's puzzled face. 

"Don't you remember when your father killed my mother because she was had found out about his affair with the downworlders and was going to expose him the next day? Don't you remember that? And don't you remember how your mother was sent into such a deep wave of depression over her murdered best friend that she killed herself?"

"Don't you remember when you would tease me about my skills and disabilities until I finally beat you and you decided to target me anyway? Don't you remember how much I begged for you to be my friend since our mothers were friends? And how much you lied and blamed our problems on me, but I didn't want to form a wedge between our parents so I always took the fall for you? You don't remember any of that? Because I do, and I remember all of the times after my mother died that you told me you would kill my father too. Just because you hated me. And then guess what?"

_"Your father wouldn't finish the job so you killed my father for him."_

"You killed my father, my best friend, the man I looked up to, the man that raised me, and taught me how to love, you killed him because your father couldn't. That's right, your father killed my mother and you killed my father."

"So no, George isn't the reason all of this started. The murder of your brother isn't even how all of this started, he was just collateral damage. _You_ are the reason this all started. And you will be the reason this all ends. You will leave Florida and never come back. You will never speak my or my friend's names ever again and you will find somewhere else in exile to live. I hope that one day you can live a better life than your father did and your child doesn't grow up to hate himself as you do." 

Silence fell over the battlefield. Even Phil's jaw was dropped and he inched away from Techno who stood completely still. His face was emotionless. The Seelie, as well as Minx and Schlatt, stood proud of Dream and his confrontation with Techno. 

Sapnap had his hand on Punz's arm, prepared to draw any energy from Punz to create the spell that they needed, as they discussed the night prior. 

Tommy had his arms shielding Tubbo, who clung to Tommy for dear life. They stood in disgust at Technoblade, as well as Wilbur who was stood next to them with his blade drawn. 

Niki stood next to Dream with her jaw dropped, she had never known the story of his parents, no one did. 

George stood in awe, he didn't know what to feel at that moment. All he felt was rage towards Technoblade. 

Technoblade's mouth slowly formed into a smile and he raised his hands to the sides of his head in surrender. He laughed and looked to Dream, who stared at him. 

"Fine, Clay, you get your wish. I'll leave and never come back, but I just want you to know one thing before I leave," Techno laughed as he leaned closer to Dream's face,

_"I'm glad I killed your worthless father,"_

Technoblade raised his hand shooting a stream of blue energy behind Dream, who stepped to the side, missing the shot. Techno smiled and began to turn around. 

_"Hurensohn!"_ Niki yelled in German as she fired an enchanted arrow straight into Technoblade's heart, piercing him. He looked down at the arrow and laughed, though he couldn't remove it due to the enchantments. He bled out as Sapnap absorbed Punz's energy to create a spell. Sapnap released his grip on Punz, who fell to the floor, and yelled a spell in French, launching the orb of energy into Techno's body. 

_"Périr,"_

The large orb of purple energy coursed through Technoblade's veins and made him immediately collapse. His lifeless corpse fell to the floor as Sapnap kneeled to inspect Punz, who was out cold from the energy he absorbed from him. 

Dream stood over Techno's lifeless body and sighed. He didn't want to hurt Techno, but his friends acted for him, resulting in his inevitable death. 

"George!" Niki screeched, kneeling to the ground. Dream immediately whipped his head around and saw George's unconscious body lying in the snow, shivering. 

Dream immediately collapsed to the ground, realizing the stream of energy Techno shot wasn't meant for him, he _meant_ for it to hit George. He knew Dream would dodge it, and it would hit George right where it mattered, hitting Dream right where it hurt. 

Dream cried as he touched George's cold body, his skin slowly turning paler by the second. 

Tubbo rushed over and placed his hands on George's arms and muttered a spell under his breath. Nothing happened. Sapnap then attempted to use the spell that he had used on George before to heal him, but nothing happened. 

George was immune to magic. 

"He used an immunity spell on George before he died, meaning your spells won't work on him," Philza chimed in. 

"You need to get him to the Institute and warm his body. His body and mind are still here, but natural causes, such as hypothermia, can still kill him. Get his body warm now and I will meet you at the Institute after I take care of Techno," Phil said, quickly preparing Techno's body for burial. 

They did as they were told and picked George's body up and carried it to the car. Wilbur stayed back with Dream, who was still kneeling in the snow crying uncontrollably. 

"Thank you, Minx and Schlatt, for your assistance. You owe us nothing and we are eternally grateful for your people's assistance today. Thank you," Wilbur said, dismissing the Seelie. 

"Tell me how the boy holds up, I liked him," Minx said genuinely before she and Schlatt disappeared into the snow. 

"Dream, we need to go," Wilbur said as he pulled on Dream's forearm. 

"I'm not going to sit here and watch you cry about George when you can be helping him, let's go," Wilbur demanded, making Dream stand up and walk towards the car. 

Wilbur looked behind him at Phil standing over Technoblade's corpse, crying silently as he wrapped his best friend's body in a tarp. Wilbur sighed and whispered an ancient Trigedasleng phrase, 

_"Yu gonplei ste odon, Technoblade."_

"Your fight is over, Technoblade." He repeated in English before walking away into the snow where his friends sat in the car waiting for him. 

-

Dream paced the hallways as they waited for Philza's arrival. There was no improvement in George's recovery besides that now he was warm. They had tried everything, nothing could wake him from his coma. 

_I did this to him. I dodged the shot on purpose. Why did he aim for George? Why couldn't I be the one in a coma right now? George would know what to do if I were in a coma._

Punz was also recovering from Sapnap's spell, the spell that killed Technoblade. Nobody was talking about it because of George's situation, but Sapnap couldn't get the guilty feeling out of his chest. Even though Techno was a bad guy and could potentially have killed George, Sapnap still regretted the spell he cast. The magic inside of him told him that was the spell to use, so maybe it was his inevitable fate after all. 

Phil knocked on the door and Dream was the first to approach the door, his nerves shooting through the roof. 

"This way," Dream said, dismissing the fact that he was Techno's former best friend and died before his eyes. 

Phil nodded and followed Dream to the recovery suite where George was being held, his pale body completely still. 

Phil inspected George's pulse and breathing pattern carefully, checking for any abnormalities with his vital health. 

"Alright, his breathing is steady and his pulse is normal, but Techno put him into a spell-induced coma. The spell refrains from magic being used to fix his condition, which is why your spells wouldn't work. But, the only solution to this is potions. There are plenty of supplies back in Caleo to help a normal coma, but this is a complex spell he used. I'm not even quite sure what we could use besides Chorus Flower, which is extremely rare," Phil stated, making Dream's eyes widen. 

"Did you say Chorus Flower? Will Chorus help him out of his coma?" Dream questioned anxiously. 

"Yes, actually. That seems to be the only thing that will help him, but even with Chorus, the potion is very complex," Phil reiterated. 

"I've got the potion covered, but I don't know where we would find Chorus," Niki said, making Dream rise. 

"I'll be back," Dream said as he disappeared into the dark oak hallways of the Institute. 

He ran up the stairs and through the hallways faster than he ever had before. He ran to his father's garden, completely stocked with Chorus. They grew it every year, even though it's lifespan was short, Dream knew how to care for it. 

He found the small purple flowers growing out of the soil his father planted in the ground. He picked up a stem of three or four flowers and placed them in a glass jar. He almost tripped on his way back down the several flights of stairs until he reached the recovery suite. 

"Here, is four enough?" Dream asked panting. 

Phil furrowed his brows and took the jar from his hands, inspecting the flower. It was perfectly grown, it was the healthiest grown flower he'd ever seen, let alone Chorus Flower, considering they're extremely hard to perfect. 

"Where did you get this?" Phil asked. 

"My father grew every kind of supernatural and mundane flower and plant he could, and I kept up the care of the greenhouse when he passed, will that work?" Dream's voice cracked as he talked about the greenhouse, it reminded him of his father and of George, who still lied lifelessly on the bed. 

"Yes! This is more than enough. Niki, do you know what to do with this?" Phil asked, handing the jar to Niki. She nodded and began to create her mixture. Dream watched amazed as Niki drew the exact ingredients needed to complete the potion, she assembled the mixture effortlessly, as if she were making pancakes or a cake. 

Dream never knew Niki could do so much, as she was always tending to the guys' needs. She fired the initial arrow at Technoblade perfectly piercing his heart, and she was now making complex potions effortlessly. She had many hidden things Dream never knew of, which made him feel guilty for never asking about it. 

Soon, a steaming pot of ingredients was being poured into a vile, which she cooled in the freezer a little bit before feeding to George. She poured the liquid down his throat until his serving was finished. 

The three patiently waited for a sign of life from George, but nothing came. His breathing was fine and he looked completely healthy, but he did nothing. Dream felt his chest become heavy and a lump form in his throat as he looked to Philza, who was sitting on another bed in the suite. 

"Wh-Why isn't he doing anything? Isn't the potion supposed to work?" Dream asked, his voice low and cracking. 

"The potion has no set time frame for when it will work, could be seconds or days. We won't know until he wakes up. But don't worry, he's completely healthy and that Chorus fruit did wonders. He'll wake up as if he's waking from a nap. I'd say to do something else while you wait," Phil said as he stood up and gathered his things. 

"But how will I know when he will wake?" Dream asked. 

"You won't. That's the thing with magic, it's never certain," Phil said as he walked to the hallway. 

"Tell me how he holds up, I'm sorry Techno did this to him, and I'm sorry for all of the trouble he caused you all. He didn't always make the best choices but I promise you the Technoblade I knew wouldn't have wanted this. London changed him for the worst. I'll see myself out, call me if you need anything," Phil said before he turned the corner, leaving Dream and Niki in the suite alone. 

Dream turned his gaze to George's body, still showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. He kneeled beside him and took George's hand in his, squeezing it tight as he cried silently. 

Dream focused his gaze on Niki after a few moments, who was cleaning her potion mess. 

"You never told me you knew how to fire an arrow, or that you knew how to make potions," Dream stated, making Niki smile. 

"You get very bored while all of your friends are out fighting demons," She said as she dried the inside of the pot she used. 

"Where did you get those enchanted arrows?" Dream asked as he stretched his arms. 

"Sapnap enchanted them for me last night, he's an amazing sorcerer, you know," She said as she touched the necklace that hung around her neck, it was the one Sapnap bought her for Christmas. 

"He's amazing. He's the one who killed Techno," Dream said as he remembered that Sapnap cast the spell right after Punz collapsed. Dream furrowed his brows and excused himself from Niki, trying to find Sapnap and ask him what happened with Punz. 

Sapnap was in his room playing with Niki's cat when Dream found him. Dream smiled and picked up the kitten, lightly scratching her head as she purred. 

"How are you holding up?" Dream asked Sapnap, who sighed into his arm. 

"I'm fine, Punz on the other hand," Sapnap said, trailing off. 

"Yeah, speaking of, what happened? How did you cast that spell? It was immediate death, I've never seen anything like it," Dream questioned, setting down Niki's cat, who still didn't have a name. 

"Oh, I have absorption. It lets me harness other supernatural energy and creates unique spells, which is what that was," Sapnap said, making Dream beam with excitement for his friend. 

"Sapnap, that's amazing! How did you find out?" Dream asked, eager for his friend's response. 

"I accidentally did it on George one time. It completely drains the supernatural of their power, which is why Punz collapsed. But don't worry, he said I could use him last night if I needed to," Sapnap giggled, his nerves subsiding. 

"You're going to be a powerful Warlock someday, Sapnap. I can feel it," Dream stated, making Sapnap beam with happiness. 

Dream excused himself from Sapnap's room and found himself wandering into his room, reminiscing on the laughs and words he and George shared just the night before. He missed his laugh and the way his fingers glided through his hair. 

Dream sat down at his easel and opened his sketchbook to his unfinished sketch from days prior. He needed to get George off his mind, considering he couldn't do anything about his condition. 

He began to paint on a blank easel. He used every color he owned, creating strokes with his paintbrush in multitudes of different colors, creating a beautiful stained glass look. 

His hand fell to all of the right places on the canvas, perfectly finishing his unfinished symphony from days ago. The image was beautiful, it completely captured every feeling Dream was enduring; 

_Hope, love, and lust._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I am actually a Technoblade dsmp apologist HAHA. This chapter is my favorite that I've written by far, I absolutely LOVE the scene between Dream and Techno, it was my favorite interaction between characters, besides George and Dream obviously. This chapter is 6.2k words long, and I love every bit of it. Also, one more chapter after this! There might be more NSFW in the next chapter, so be warned now lol.


	10. yours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOO last chapter!!! hope you enjoy it! it's a long one!

"TOMMY WHAT THE HELL" Sapnap screamed as Tommy tripped Sapnap with a spell, making Sapnap fall to the floor. 

Tommy laughed and held his chest in pain from laughter. 

"You're such an idiot, Sapnap," Tommy replied, soon after he was pulled to the floor by Sapnap's spell that caught his feet. 

Sapnap now laughed and held his chest. 

Sapnap, Tommy, and Tubbo had been visiting each other over the couple of days that George was still in a coma and Dream trained constantly to keep his mind off of George. 

"You all are so annoying, can we get back to the lesson?" Tubbo asked as he laughed at his friends, who were fighting like children. 

The two boys groaned at Tubbo, but sat down at the table as he taught. This trio was unexpected, but Punz had been caught up with Andrea, who he had met during the alliance and formed a liking to, Niki and Wilbur were growing closer, now that Wilbur wasn't in Caleo constantly, and Dream had been waiting for George to wake up since the battle almost four days ago. 

"Ey, Sapnap, do you guys know if George is going to wake up soon? Hasn't it been like four days?" Tommy asked as he pulled a piece of bread from the pantry while Tubbo put away their spellbooks. 

"Not so far, but Dream doesn't leave the house anymore. Punz, Wilbur, even Niki, and I have all been taking care of the demons in Orlando recently. Dream is a strong Shadowhunter but man does his heart get the best of him sometimes," Sapnap whined, making Tommy and Tubbo chuckle. 

"You know, Sapnap, you could be the High Warlock of Orlando. Phil was the previous High Warlock, but he said he's retiring once they find a replacement. With your absorption and ability to create new spells, I'm sure you'd be a great candidate," Tubbo suggested. 

"Thank you, Tubbo, but I'm so new to magic. I just discovered I was a sorcerer, what, four months ago? Maybe five?" Sapnap said. 

"Holy shit has it really been four months since I took you off the street that night?" Tommy questioned as he chewed his bread. 

"I guess it has, that happened in October and it's almost February," Sapnap stated, making the boys laugh. 

"You know, you were a pain to take you off of the street that night, and with your magical abilities you could have fought it, but you didn't know," Tommy trailed off, making Sapnap laugh. 

"But if that never happened I wouldn't have met you guys," Sapnap started,

"Eh, that might not have been a bad thing, I guess," Sapnap joked, but Tommy threw his bread at Sapnap's forehead, making his head knock backward. 

"Jesus, what the hell is that? Fruitcake?" Sapnap whined at Tommy who laughed. 

"Sourdough. Can never go wrong with good ol' sourdough," Tommy remarked, making Sapnap roll his eyes. 

"No, but seriously, Sapnap, you should at least speak to the Warlock, see if you could train to become one. I think they'd make an exception considering how fast you learn spells and your absorption, you've even taught me and Tommy things and we've studied magic our whole lives," Tubbo added. 

"Maybe," Sapnap said, thinking of the possibilities. 

-

Dream dried his body off after he turned off his shower, his hair dripping down his back. He couldn't get George out of his head, his mind was completely occupied with George and his recovery. He sighed as he turned down his phone speaker that was playing oddly sad music. 

His room was dark, he hadn't opened the windows in days to let the sun in. His painting was dried and taunting him with hope for George's quick recovery. Dream dressed before he left to check on George. He was greeted with the same sight as he had been for the past three days: a pale, sleeping, peaceful George. Dream groaned at the un-improved condition and wandered into the kitchen, where Niki had been cleaning. 

"Good morning, Dream," Niki greeted, making Dream smile. 

"Hey, Niki, what are you doing?" He asked. 

"Oh, I'm cleaning the house before Wilbur and I leave for Germany, our flight doesn't leave until five but I want to get to the airport early so we can get dinner before we leave," Niki stated, making Dream frown. 

Niki and Wilbur were leaving for Europe, stopping to see Niki's parents in Germany before visiting Wilbur's in England. They finally found a good time to embrace their love for each other, and they decided to travel to their hometowns to experience it. Dream was happy for them but sad that he wouldn't have anyone to talk to after they left. Dream couldn't help but notice Sapnap had been hanging around Tommy and Tubbo in Caleo and Punz had been nicely avoiding him to hang out with Andrea. Dream was alone with George until he woke, which pained him. 

"Oh, fun! When are you leaving the Institute? I can drive you to the airport," Dream suggested, but Niki smiled softly. 

"Oh, Dream, thank you, but Punz is already driving us before he goes to Andrea's tonight. We're sorry, we figured that you would want to stay with George," Niki apologized, but she was right. He did want to stay with George. And now Punz was leaving for Andrea's, leaving Dream alone with an unconscious George. 

"It's alright, you were being thoughtful," Dream said sweetly, making Niki smile. 

"You can help us load our bags into the car, we're leaving in about ten minutes," Niki suggested, to which Dream happily agreed. 

He helped the three prepare for their drive and wished them safe travels before retreating into the Institute. He was alone. Niki had cleaned the Institute and George was still asleep, leaving Dream's only occupation being Niki's cat. 

Dream bored himself and the cat to the point where she walked away, leaving Dream alone with his thoughts. He took a book from their library and sat down on a bed in the recovery suite, waiting for George. He turned the cover open and read the first page, 

_Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince_

The words made him smile and he thought back to the time he and George first met. George was wearing a navy crewneck and black jeans, which made Dream's interest peak. He thought for a minute about de-glamouring himself to talk to George, considering he was one of the most attractive people he'd ever seen in his life. But George dropped that book before he could finish his thought, and he laughed at the startled face George made. 

Dream made fun of the faux collar George wore under his sweatshirt, but inside Dream was in love with it. He loved the collar, but instead of exposing his love for it, he made fun of it, as most boys do with their elementary school crushes. He was surprised when the flirtatious words came out of his mouth, telling George to take it off. He was even more surprised when George listened, and Dream melted inside at the fire burning for the strange man. 

"That book is where our love story started," A groggy voice came from the room, startling Dream. He looked up from his book and looked around, seeing George's slightly pink face looking back at him. 

George looked like he had woken up from a long nap, which it technically was, his hair was messy and his voice was groggy and raspy. He had fabric lines across his cheek from the pillow he'd been glued to for the past several days. 

"So you're just going to stare at me?" George asked, bringing Dream out of his thoughts. 

"I- I'm sorry. I've been staring at you in that bed for the past four days starting to lose hope of you ever waking up," Dream said. George laughed at his words as he sat up. 

"I feel like I just took the longest nap of my life, I'm all groggy," George whined, making Dream gleam. 

"You look like hell," Dream joked, making George's eyes narrow. 

"Thanks, it's not like some all-powerful sorcerer cast a coma spell on me or anything like that," George said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Dream stood up and walked to George, who looked up to Dream. 

"I've missed you," Dream stated, making George smile. 

"I've missed you too, but I need to shower and eat before I do anything," George said, making his way towards the hallway. 

Dream followed George and made him food. He made George a frozen pizza as they caught up on the events of the last few days, cheering George up at Sapnap's improved talents. 

George ate nearly the entire pizza before he left to brush his teeth, stating he felt like he ate a pigpen. Dream lied down on George's bed as George turned on the shower and the bathroom filled with steam. George came out of the bathroom with no shirt on, startling Dream. He was wearing only the grey sweatpants Dream changed him into after his second day in the same black pants he wore to Caleo. 

"Join me," George said as he stood over Dream, who was now sitting at the foot of George's bed. Dream's eyebrows raised. 

"In the shower?" Dream questioned with a low tone as he rested his hands on George's hips, pulling him closer. 

"Yeah, you can help me clean off all the grime I've collected over the past few days," George said laughing. 

Dream stood up and followed George into the bathroom. His heart raced, he and George had never done anything sexual before, besides heated makeout sessions. Not that this was necessarily sexual, but this could turn into something sexual. 

They stripped and admired each other's figures, appreciating every aspect of each other. George smiled and kissed Dream before he opened the glass shower door and stepped in. Dream followed and stepped in, the water drenching his back and hair. George then shifted and stepped into the water. The shower was abnormally large, as were all of the showers at the Institute, and it made it easy for both of them to move around. 

George handed Dream the bottle of shampoo and turned his back to Dream as he lathered the soap into George's hair, massaging his scalp gently. George let a sound of pleasure quietly escape his mouth before Dream rinsed the soap from his hair, making Dream yearn for George. Dream applied the conditioner to George's hair and ran his fingers through his scalp, making George's eyes fall to the back of his head. 

George handed Dream the bottle of body wash and turned around once again, motioning for Dream to touch him. Dream hesitated. 

"Come on, Dream, _touch me._ I know you want to," George said softly, making Dream's emotions rise even higher, the flames in his heart growing stronger. 

"George," Dream groaned, not knowing if he could contain himself in that situation. 

"Dream, I know what I'm asking you for," George insisted, making Dream smile. 

Dream took the soap and poured some into his hand, rubbing it between his hands before he rested his hands on George's shoulders. He slowly moved his hands downward, caressing George's back. Dream's touch made George tremble. He hated how much he loved Dream's hands on his body. George wanted all of Dream, especially now that he had wasted four days by being asleep. 

Dream slowly moved his hands down to George's hips, his hands stopping just before his groin. George groaned quietly at Dream's boundaries, making Dream snicker. 

"What, George? Did you want me to lower myself?" Dream whispered into George's ear, turning him on emotionally and physically. 

"Y-Yeah," George stuttered, being too concerned by Dream's touch to form a full sentence. 

Dream smirked and kissed George's neck, his hands lowering, making George moan softly. Dream was now hard against George's body, making George even more desperate. The water fell onto George's abdomen, enhancing the array of emotions he was enduring. George spun around and kissed Dream, moaning softly into their kiss. Dream moved his hands up to George's face, cupping it. They wanted each other badly, and nothing was stopping them this time. Dream backed onto the wall of the shower, being unable to control his movement. 

-

Dream stood up and walked into the bathroom, retrieving a towel to clean themselves off. He cleaned George's behind off, which was the messiest of all. George was barely mobile, he was still collecting his thoughts. 

Dream cleaned himself and threw the towel at George, who had now rolled to his back. Dream chuckled at the sight of George, who had looked like he was petrified. 

"Are you good?" Dream laughed as he shook his hair. 

"Uhm, yeah. F-Fine," George mumbled, barely audible. 

"Well, I'm getting back in the shower to actually shower because I'm gross now, you can join when you find the strength to stand," Dream laughed, making his way back into the bathroom. He turned on the water and waited for it to heat up as he went back and stared at George, who had finally gotten up. He was cleaning his stomach and trying to remove the bedding before Dream stopped him. 

"George, I'll handle that. Just come in here, I'll actually wash you now," Dream said, making George groan, but reluctantly followed Dream into the shower. 

Dream rewashed George, only now he caressed George's body and left a trail of kisses down his neck. Dream sat on the stone bench and George washed his hair, making Dream smile at the feeling of George's hands through his hair. 

_His hands in my hair are still my fucking weakness._

"Why do you like my hands in your hair so much? I swear I could make you come if I did it long enough," George muttered, making Dream laugh. 

"Honestly, you probably could, but don't test the theory, please. I'm so tired," Dream whined, making George laugh. 

"I'm not, but I like seeing your face absolutely melt when I touch your hair, it's so cute," George remarked, making Dream blush. 

"Shut up," Dream mumbled, standing to rinse his hair from the shampoo. He sat back down and George continued with the conditioner. 

"Who knew this is why your hair is so soft, you fucking play with it when the conditioner is in," George said laughing. Dream rolled his eyes, standing to rinse it. 

George washed Dream's body and they got out, drying themselves off. They dressed and walked back out to the bedroom, facing the fact that they had to remove the, rather messy, duvet cover to wash it. Dream groaned. 

"I hate taking these things off, the ties are always a bitch to untie," Dream whined, walking to the bed and picking up the duvet. 

"I don't even know what a duvet is, I just use a comforter," George stated, shrugging his shoulders. 

"That's what it is, but you put a duvet cover on top to protect the comforter itself, they're usually super expensive so you cover them," Dream explained, making George raise his brows. 

"Who knew you knew so much about blankets? I see who the girl is in this relationship," George teased but was immediately shut down. 

"I know good bedding and how to bake a frozen pizza. Ok, bottom," Dream chuckled at himself, making George blush and help him carefully untie the duvet ties. 

The two carried the bedding to the washer and started it, Dream hooked his arms around George's waist from behind and nuzzled his head in the crook of George's neck. George smiled at the tall blonde man behind him. 

"You're so clingy," George laughed, but Dream only continued to kiss his neck softly. 

"Jesus, what has gotten into you?" George asked, giggling at Dream's soft kisses. 

"I love you" Dream whispered into George's neck between kisses. 

George giggled and ran into the living room away from Dream, who whined and walked slowly behind him. 

"Why did you run from me?" Dream whined to George who was turning on the TV. 

"Why are you so clingy? Seriously, you haven't kept your hands off me since I woke up," George remarked, slightly laughing. 

"Because, George," Dream said walking closer to George and wrapping his arms around him, pulling him into a hug. 

"I've never felt this way about anyone, I can't keep my hands off of something-" Dream stopped himself. 

"Something... what?" George questioned. 

"I was going to say something that's all mine, but you're not mine," Dream sighed, remembering George didn't want to be anything official. 

George smiled and kissed Dream's lips softly,

_"I've always been yours, Dream."_

The words made Dream's heart glow, and he smiled down at George's face, who looked to be almost glowing under the dim lighting of the living room. 

They lied on the couch and watched their dumb cooking show, laughing at how staged the show was.

"Who the hell accidentally uses lettuce instead of celery? That doesn't even make sense, this show is so scuffed," George complained, which only made Dream laugh at George's concern with the show. 

"I might do something like that, I'm not the greatest chef," Dream remarked, which made George sit up and look back at Dream. 

"Well, that means you're an idiot," George snipped, making Dream laugh. 

"Ugh, I have work in the morning. My boss is going to be pissed at me for missing four days, I hope Sapnap covered for me," George groaned. 

"Why don't you just quit?" Dream questioned as he drew circles on George's knee. 

"Are you insane? How else would I pay for shit? Sapnap and I have an apartment to pay for, phone bill, food, myself? I need money," George laughed. Dream stiffened his face. 

"George... live here?" He questioned as if it were obvious. 

"No! I'm not mooching off of my boyfriend, that's wrong," George laughed, his tone still half-serious. 

Dream smiled at the title, _my boyfriend._

"I'm not saying to mooch off of your boyfriend," Dream loved saying it, he'd waited too long. 

"I'm saying that if you train to become a Shadowhunter- officially, I mean, they'll pay you better than your job now," Dream said. 

"And for Sapnap, if he also applies to become a Warlock, or even the High Warlock of Orlando, he'd make absolute bank. You guys would be set." Dream exclaimed, making George smile. 

"Plus, then you could live with your amazing boyfriend and we can have shower sex whenever we want," Dream said laughing, making George roll his eyes and smile. 

"Oh God, Dream," George blushed, turning away. 

"What? Not even just that, but you'd be around your friends all the time. And you'd have the training room around the clock, and I'd be here to help you train learn runes and such," Dream explained, making the situation sound more desirable. 

"You had me sold on shower sex, but I'm not the only one affected by that decision, Sapnap is too. I don't even know if he wants to be a Warlock," George said, and almost instantly Sapnap walked through the door. 

His eyes lit up at the sight of George in Dream's arms, and George stood up and bear-hugged his best friend, who laughed. 

"George! You're awake!" Sapnap exclaimed, his tone high and giggly. 

"Yes! Where were you?" George asked, pulling out of the hug and looking at Sapnap's face. Sapnap's face fell into a surprised grin. 

"I was with Tommy but you're glowing, you- oh my God," Sapnap giggled. 

"You have the glow,"

"The after-sex glow. You guys fucked when you woke up!" Sapnap laughed, looking to Dream and George's blushing faces. 

"What? That's not even a thing!" George exclaimed, defending himself. 

"Yes, it is! How else would I have known? I've been gone all day and this is the first time I've seen you awake in four days!" Sapnap yelled. 

"Whatever, moving on," Dream tried changing the subject. 

"You dirty little whores, you didn't even wait a DAY of George being awake to fuck, I'm honestly surprised it took this long, though," Sapnap laughed, setting his car keys down on the table next to the front door. 

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about your guys' sex life. Well, I do, but not right now, I need to tell you guys something!" Sapnap said excitedly. 

"What is it?" Dream asked as he stood up to meet them in the entry room. 

"I spoke to Philza, who is the High Warlock of Orlando right now, and he told me he would train me to become the next High Warlock! Isn't that awesome?" Sapnap asked, happiness practically seeping from his face. 

George's face lit up and he pulled his friend into another hug. 

"Sapnap! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" George exclaimed. 

"Dude, do you guys know how much Warlock are paid? Not even mentioning HIGH Warlock, those guys make BANK," Sapnap emphasized his words. 

"Like I'll get paid just for training, that's insane. You supernatural have money flying out of your asses," Sapnap said, making his way to the kitchen. 

Dream and George shared a look, referring to their conversation earlier. 

"Anyway, I'm hungry. You guys down for sushi?" Sapnap asked, opening his phone to the sushi website. 

"Uhm, yeah. But can we go to a different place? We don't exactly have the best track record there..." Dream asked, remembering their makeout session in the parking lot and their touchy-ness in the restaurant. It felt like a lifetime ago for Dream. 

"But Seito is the best place around here, come on, what did you guys do?" Sapnap groaned. He looked at their blank, pink faces and realized it would be better not to ask for details. 

"I'll order for delivery, then." Sapnap rolled his eyes, handing Dream the phone to order his food. 

The three ordered their food and watched TV as they waited for it to be delivered, Sapnap groaning while holding his stomach. 

"I'm so hungry and watching these stupid asses take one bite of their food is making me mad," Sapnap whined. 

"Then go make something in the meantime," George groaned, annoyed at Sapnap's constant whining. 

"I don't want to because I ordered like eighty dollars worth of sushi for myself and edamame," Sapnap explained. 

"Eighty dollars? Are you insane?" George asked. 

"No, I haven't eaten anything today. I just want Rodrigo to pick up my food already he's driving so slowwwwwwwww" Sapnap whined, making George's skin crawl. 

Dream could feel George tense up in his lap, and he rested his hand on his, squeezing. It calmed George. 

"Do you think Rodrigo is cute?" Dream asked, making Sapnap laugh. 

"Bro he's probably so fine, such a daddy." Sapnap said laughing, which made Dream and George laugh as well. 

Several episodes of Chopped later, Sapnap got the notification on his phone that Rodrigo was approaching with their meal. Dream hopped out of his seat behind George, him now whining about his hunger levels. Dream de-glamourized the Institute for five minutes for him to show up, waiting for a knock on the door. Soon, the knock came and Dream rushed to open the door. 

He wasn't met with the middle-aged Spanish man he was expecting, he was met with a young, Spanish, brunette girl. Dream's breath hitched when he opened the door, though he wouldn't like to admit it, it was because of her sudden beauty. 

"Hi! For Nick?" She asked, her voice sweet. The voice shocked Sapnap and George, who quickly rushed to the hallway just before they were in her view. 

"Y-Yes! Nick, aha" Dream laughed awkwardly. 

"I love this place, it's my favorite in the area!" She commented, handing Dream the bags of food.

"Mine too! No offense, but are you Rodrigo?" Dream asked softly, trying not to sound offensive. 

She laughed, her laugh was soft and contagious. 

"No, I'm not. That's my dad's account, mine was all buggy so I used his! I'm Ariana," She said, smiling at Dream. 

"Oh! I was a little confused, thank you," Dream laughed, taking one of five bags of food she was holding. 

"No worries, I figured it was bound to happen tonight."

"Here are your five bags, I have to go to the car to get your drinks, I hope you have someone in there with you," She laughed. Dream blushed, they did order a lot of food. He waited for her to return with the drinks before he responded. 

"Yeah, my friends and I got pretty hungry," Dream chuckled, internally admiring her smile that seemed to be contagious. 

"Well here's your drinks! Have a great day!" She exclaimed, waving at Dream. 

"Wait!" Dream said, going back inside of the Institute to grab his wallet. He pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and handed it to her, it was a bit excessive but it was all that he had and she was nice. 

"Here! I only have a fifty, it's your lucky day." Dream smiled, handing her the bill. 

She looked back up to him with a drooping face and watery eyes, in shock. 

"Are you serious?" She asked in disbelief. Dream laughed and said yes. 

George listened to their conversation with a knot in his stomach. He was _jealous_ over a DoorDash delivery driver. He was simply interacting with a delivery driver, and yet he was jealous. 

The two finished their interaction and Dream came back to the Institute and re-glamoured the building after she left. Dream's face was flushed pink, which startled Sapnap and George. George didn't say anything. 

"What the hell happened over there," Sapnap questioned, making Dream laugh. 

"Just interacting with a driver, thought it was weird that her profile picture said Rodrigo but she... wasn't." Dream laughed. 

They pulled out their food and began eating. Dream walked to the cupboard and pulled a soy sauce tray from the cupboard, 

"Do you guys want one?" Dream asked, motioning to the trays. Sapnap shook his head no, already devouring his crunchy roll. 

"George?" Dream asked George, who was avoiding eye contact. 

"Oh, no." George said harshly, making Dream shrug. 

"Are you ok?" Dream asked George, who just nodded as he opened his tuna special. 

Dream took his dish and sat in between George and Sapnap and opened his food, devouring it immediately. Sapnap shook his head with his mouth full. 

"So fucking good," Sapnap murmured into his second roll. 

Dream took the first initial bite of food and moaned intentionally, his mood immediately getting better. He was extremely happy while eating his food. He had a permanent smile on his face, the food filling his emotions. He looked to George who was silently eating his food. Dream put his hand on George's thigh and squeezed, but George pulled his leg away from Dream's grasp, making Dream frown. 

"Can you not," George muttered under his breath, trying to prevent Sapnap from hearing. Dream furrowed his brows and turned to George. 

"What happened? Was it the girl?" Dream whispered. 

"I'm fine, just eat." George demanded, taking his food from the table and into the living room, resuming his show. 

"What happened?" Sapnap whispered to Dream, who was groaning at George's sudden fit. 

"I think he's jealous, I'm gonna have to fuck him to make him forgive me," Dream whispered casually, which made Sapnap shoot root beer out of his nose from laughter. He laughed extremely loud, resulting in a glare from George from the room over. 

"Just don't be too loud," Sapnap joked again, making Dream scoff. 

"I'm not the one you need to worry about," Dream said as he lifted his Coke to his mouth, resulting in a fake gag from Sapnap. 

"Ok, I'm moving on from this conversation. I'm grossed out, now." Sapnap said still laughing. Dream and Sapnap shared more laughs after dinner and Sapnap headed to bed, texting Dream once he got to his room. 

_"Let me know how it goes ;)"_

Dream laughed at his message as he followed George to his room, which was conveniently on the opposite end of the hall from Sapnap's. 

Dream pulled George by his arm into Dream's room, locking the door behind him. George rolled his eyes. 

"What?" George asked, annoyed. Dream cupped George's face and kissed him. George didn't move away from the kiss, but he didn't engage. 

"Hmm sassy George, I like it," Dream whispered between kisses. 

"Stop it," George said. 

"George, what the hell is going on? Are you mad that I was talking to that girl earlier?" Dream exploded, making George sigh. 

"Dream, let me be jealous," George whispered, his head falling. 

"George," Dream said, cupping George's face. 

"You're allowed to be jealous, I fucking locked myself in my room for a month when I got jealous. The difference is now we can talk about it, and I understand," Dream said. 

"Ugh, you're too good to me," George said, making Dream laugh and kiss him. 

The kiss developed into sex, and they finished together, this time being mindful of not ruining another duvet. 

"I love you, Dream." George said as he nuzzled his head into the crook of George's neck. Dream smiled. 

"I love you too, George." Dream whispered, tired from their previous activities. 

George got up out of bed, leaving Dream alone in bed. 

"Georrrggeeeee" Dream whined, patting the bed where George lied before. 

"What is this?" George said, motioning to the canvas Dream had painted the first night that George was in his coma. 

Dream sat up and stretched his arms. 

"I painted that the first night you were unconscious, I needed to distract myself," Dream explained, standing behind George, wrapping his arms around his waist. 

"It's beautiful," George remarked making Dream smile. 

"I made it after you." Dream said into George's neck. 

"You're so corny," George laughed. 

"Only for you, my love." Dream whispered. George kissed his boyfriend and went to sleep in his arms, every trouble fading into nothing. 

-

George and Sapnap sat on the floor of their empty apartment, reminiscing on their memories, or when the apartment was just George's. 

"Do you remember that first night I made you wear that sweatshirt collar?" Sapnap laughed. 

"You mean that stupid faux collar that was super itchy and ugly? Yeah, I do." George snapped, making Sapnap laugh even harder. 

George thought about what Dream had said to him the night that he wore the collar, and the amount of control Dream had over him even from the beginning. 

"Do you remember when you got all flustered that day at work with Alexa? And now you two are dating?" George asked, remembering the day Sapnap got jealous of George and Alexa's interactions. Now, months and months later, they were dating. Sapnap laughed, looking down at the small silver cuff ring that Alexa had bought him for their one month anniversary. 

"I do, crazy to think it's been over a month since I grew the balls to ask her to be my girlfriend," Sapnap remarked, making George smile at his friend's accomplishments. 

George looked around at the kitchen, and he remembered the counter that he tripped over and Sapnap showed his initial magic powers at. 

"That's the spot you showed me you had magic," George pointed to the empty space where their table had been. 

"And now you're the High Warlock of Orlando and you train the two meddling kids who kidnapped you," George chuckled, remembering the simpler days. 

"Those were simpler times," Sapnap said, remembering the time that their biggest concern was getting their work completed in time. 

"That's where Punz and I cheered when you and Dream walked in holding hands the first night he came back," Sapnap said, pointing to the space where the couch was. 

"And now you two have been officially dating for two months, that's insane to me. How has time passed so fast?" Sapnap asked, making George smile at the memories. 

He remembered how happy he felt that night, how long he had waited to kiss Dream. How long he had lied awake at night missing Dream. He remembered the letter he wrote to give to Dream on Christmas. The day Sapnap single-handedly killed the all-powerful sorcerer, Technoblade, and saved their lives. The night he and Dream finally made love in the shower after George had woken up. The night of their one month anniversary. 

"I thought you were absolutely crazy when you talked about Dream that first night, I thought you had been roofied," Sapnap joked, making George laugh. 

All of the memories they shared, all led back to Sapnap dragging him out to the bar. 

"Who would've thought it would lead us to the biggest part of our lives?" George questioned. Sapnap stood from the floor and reached out a hand to George, who stood with him. They took one last look at their empty apartment, wanting to cry at its emptiness. 

"It was all meant to be," Sapnap said as he took one last look at their apartment before locking the door and leaving the key in the front office. 

-

_End of Blue._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's it! i'm not too happy with this book tbh :/ i kinda lost interest in the plot halfway through so i forced the ending haha, i hope you enjoyed it tho!


End file.
